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loopsJunio C Hamano
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Junio C Hamano
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Update documentation to remove incorrect GIT_DIFF_OPTS example.
Git no longer calls an external diff program to generate patches. Remove the documentation which suggests that you can pass arbitrary diff options via the GIT_DIFF_OPTS environment variable. Signed-off-by: Sean Estabrooks <seanlkml@sympatico.ca> Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>
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‎Documentation/diff-format.txt‎

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@@ -65,62 +65,17 @@ Generating patches with -p
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When "git-diff-index", "git-diff-tree", or "git-diff-files" are run
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with a '-p' option, they do not produce the output described above;
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instead they produce a patch file.
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instead they produce a patch file. You can customize the creation
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of such patches via the GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF and the GIT_DIFF_OPTS
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environment variables.
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The patch generation can be customized at two levels.
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1. When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is not set,
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these commands internally invoke "diff" like this:
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diff -L a/<path> -L b/<path> -pu <old> <new>
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+
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For added files, `/dev/null` is used for <old>. For removed
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files, `/dev/null` is used for <new>
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+
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The "diff" formatting options can be customized via the
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environment variable 'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'. For example, if you
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prefer context diff:
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GIT_DIFF_OPTS=-c git-diff-index -p HEAD
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2. When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
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program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
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described above.
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+
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For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
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'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
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path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
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+
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where:
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<old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
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contents of <old|new>,
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<old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
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<old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
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+
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The file parameters can point at the user's working file
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(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
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when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
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index). 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
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temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
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For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
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parameter, <path>.
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git specific extension to diff format
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-------------------------------------
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What -p option produces is slightly different from the
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traditional diff format.
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What the -p option produces is slightly different from the traditional
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diff format.
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1. It is preceded with a "git diff" header, that looks like
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this:
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diff --git a/file1 b/file2
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diff --git a/file1 b/file2
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+
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The `a/` and `b/` filenames are the same unless rename/copy is
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involved. Especially, even for a creation or a deletion,

‎Documentation/git.txt‎

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@@ -639,11 +639,35 @@ git Commits
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git Diffs
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~~~~~~~~~
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'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
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Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
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number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
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This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
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value passed on the git diff command line.
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'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
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see the "generating patches" section in :
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gitlink:git-diff-index[1];
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gitlink:git-diff-files[1];
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gitlink:git-diff-tree[1]
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When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
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program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
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described above. For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
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'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
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path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
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+
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where:
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<old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
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contents of <old|new>,
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<old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
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<old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
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+
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The file parameters can point at the user's working file
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(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
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when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
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index). 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
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temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
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+
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For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
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parameter, <path>.
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other
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~~~~~

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