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authorLibravatar Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>2021-12-05 12:26:16 -0800
committerLibravatar Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>2021-12-05 12:26:43 -0800
commit91028f7659c165eb48910d333a78e4dac9cff2b6 (patch)
tree21ca8a3a57428980680e474e3bd3d87e71dff789
parentGit 2.34.1 (diff)
downloadtgif-91028f7659c165eb48910d333a78e4dac9cff2b6.tar.xz
grep: clarify what `grep.patternType=default` means
We documented that with grep.patternType set to default, the "git grep" command returns to "the default matching behavior" in 84befcd0 (grep: add a grep.patternType configuration setting, 2012-08-03). The grep.extendedRegexp configuration variable was the only way to configure the behavior before that, after b22520a3 (grep: allow -E and -n to be turned on by default via configuration, 2011-03-30) introduced it. It is understandable that we referred to the behavior that honors the older configuration variable as "the default matching" behavior. It is fairly clear in its log message: When grep.patternType is set to a value other than "default", the grep.extendedRegexp setting is ignored. The value of "default" restores the current default behavior, including the grep.extendedRegexp behavior. But when the paragraph is read in isolation by a new person who is not aware of that backstory (which is the synonym for "most users"), the "default matching behavior" can be read as "how 'git grep' behaves without any configuration variables or options", which is "match the pattern as BRE". Clarify what the passage means by elaborating what the phrase "default matching behavior" wanted to mean. Helped-by: Johannes Altmanninger <aclopte@gmail.com> Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
-rw-r--r--Documentation/config/grep.txt3
1 files changed, 2 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/config/grep.txt b/Documentation/config/grep.txt
index 44abe45a7c..182edd813a 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/grep.txt
+++ b/Documentation/config/grep.txt
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ grep.patternType::
Set the default matching behavior. Using a value of 'basic', 'extended',
'fixed', or 'perl' will enable the `--basic-regexp`, `--extended-regexp`,
`--fixed-strings`, or `--perl-regexp` option accordingly, while the
- value 'default' will return to the default matching behavior.
+ value 'default' will use the `grep.extendedRegexp` option to choose
+ between 'basic' and 'extended'.
grep.extendedRegexp::
If set to true, enable `--extended-regexp` option by default. This