[1/2] replaces "pickaxe regex" with "regex", as suggested by Junio.
[2/2] is now co-authored by Junio. I've taken what I think are the
best changes introduced by both versions and merged them. The
inter-diff follows.
diff --git a/Documentation/diff-options.txt b/Documentation/diff-options.txt
index b61a666..2835eef 100644
--- a/Documentation/diff-options.txt
+++ b/Documentation/diff-options.txt
@@ -383,18 +383,19 @@ ifndef::git-format-patch[]
that matches other criteria, nothing is selected.
-S<string>::
- Look for commits that change the number of occurrences of the
- specified string (i.e. addition/ deletion) in a file.
+ Look for differences that change the number of occurrences of
+ the specified string (i.e. addition/deletion) in a file.
Intended for the scripter's use.
+
It is especially useful when you're looking for an exact block of code
(like a struct), and want to know the history of that block since it
-first came into being.
+first came into being: use the feature iteratively to feed the
+interesting block in the preimage back into `-S`, and keep going until
+you get the very first version of the block.
-G<regex>::
- Grep through the patch text of commits for added/removed lines
- that match <regex>. `--pickaxe-regex` is implied in this
- mode.
+ Look for differences whose patch text contains added/removed
+ lines that match <regex>.
+
To illustrate the difference between `-S<regex> --pickaxe-regex` and
`-G<regex>`, consider a commit with the following diff in the same
@@ -408,7 +409,7 @@ file:
+
While `git log -G"regexec\(regexp"` will show this commit, `git log
-S"regexec\(regexp" --pickaxe-regex` will not (because the number of
-occurrences of that string didn't change).
+occurrences of that string did not change).
+
See the 'pickaxe' entry in linkgit:gitdiffcore[7] for more
information.
@@ -419,8 +420,8 @@ information.
in <string>.
--pickaxe-regex::
- Treat the <string> not as a plain string, but an extended
- POSIX regex to match. It is implied when `-G` is used.
+ Treat the <string> given to `-S` as an extended POSIX regular
+ expression to match.
endif::git-format-patch[]
-O<orderfile>::
diff --git a/Documentation/gitdiffcore.txt b/Documentation/gitdiffcore.txt
index d0f2b91..ef4c04a 100644
--- a/Documentation/gitdiffcore.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gitdiffcore.txt
@@ -225,31 +225,29 @@ diffcore-pickaxe: For Detecting Addition/Deletion of
Specified String
There are two kinds of pickaxe: the S kind (corresponding to 'git log
-S') and the G kind (mnemonic: grep; corresponding to 'git log -G').
-The S kind detects filepairs whose "result" side and "origin" side
-have different number of occurrences of specified string. By
-definition, it will not detect in-file moves. Also, when a commit
-moves a file wholesale without affecting the string being looked at,
-rename detection kicks in as usual, and 'git log -S' omits the commit
-(since the number of occurrences of that string didn't change in that
-rename-detected filepair). The implementation essentially runs a
-count, and is significantly cheaper than the G kind.
-
-The G kind detects filepairs whose patch text has an added or a
-deleted line that matches the given regexp. This means that it can
-detect in-file (or what rename-detection considers the same file)
-moves. The implementation of 'git log -G' runs diff twice and greps,
-and this can be quite expensive.
-
-When `--pickaxe-regex` is used with `-S`, treat the <string> not as a
-plain string, but an extended POSIX regex to match. It is implied
-when `-G` is used.
-
-When `--pickaxe-all` is not in effect, diffcore-pickaxe leaves only
-the filepairs that touch the specified string in its output. When in
-effect, diffcore-pickaxe leaves all filepairs intact if there is such
-a filepair, or makes the output empty otherwise. The latter behavior
-is designed to make reviewing of the changes in the context of the
-whole changeset easier.
+"-S<block of text>" detects filepairs whose preimage and postimage
+have different number of occurrences of the specified block of text.
+By definition, it will not detect in-file moves. Also, when a
+changeset moves a file wholesale without affecting the interesting
+string, rename detection kicks in as usual, and `-S` omits the
+filepair (since the number of occurrences of that string didn't change
+in that rename-detected filepair). The implementation essentially
+runs a count, and is significantly cheaper than the G kind. When used
+with `--pickaxe-regex`, treat the <block of text> as an extended POSIX
+regular expression to match, instead of a literal string.
+
+"-G<regular expression>" detects filepairs whose textual diff has an
+added or a deleted line that matches the given regular expression.
+This means that it can detect in-file (or what rename-detection
+considers the same file) moves. The implementation runs diff twice
+and greps, and this can be quite expensive.
+
+When `-S` or `-G` are used without `--pickaxe-all`, only filepairs
+that match their respective criterion are kept in the output. When
+`--pickaxe-all` is used, if even one filepair matches their respective
+criterion in a changeset, the entire changeset is kept. This behavior
+is designed to make reviewing changes in the context of the whole
+changeset easier.
diffcore-order: For Sorting the Output Based on Filenames
---------------------------------------------------------
Ramkumar Ramachandra (2):
diffcore-pickaxe: make error messages more consistent
diffcore-pickaxe doc: document -S and -G properly
Documentation/diff-options.txt | 38 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------
Documentation/gitdiffcore.txt | 43 ++++++++++++++++++++++++------------------
diffcore-pickaxe.c | 4 ++--
3 files changed, 57 insertions(+), 28 deletions(-)
--
1.8.3.rc3.17.gd95ec6c.dirty
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