[darcs-devel] [darcs #311] Re: [darcs-users] Send "darcs help" output to STDOUT

[schwern at pobox.com via RT]

Sat Apr 02 18:36:16 2005: New ticket: 311.
Transaction: Ticket created by schwern at pobox.com
       Queue: Darcs
     Subject: Re: [darcs-users] Send "darcs help" output to STDOUT
       Owner: Nobody
  Requestors: schwern at pobox.com
      Status: new
 Ticket <URL: http://bugs.darcs.net/.//Ticket/Display.html?id=311 >

On Sat, Apr 02, 2005 at 03:52:00PM -0500, David Roundy wrote:
> > but not this! There nothing on STDOUT on purpuse! Would you like darcs
> > to finish with exit code 0 too?
> 
> Indeed, we must consider the case where darcs is called from within a
> script, or some other situation where stdout isn't apparent to the user.

If darcs is called from within a script I'm not so sure spewing a usage
list to STDERR is terribly useful to anyone.  

However...


> What might help would be to shorten the message when a command is mistyped
> so the user can see the whole message:
> 
> $darcs wifflebingbobwoo
> 
> darcs failed:  Invalid command 'wifflebingbobwoo'!
> 
> Try darcs --help to see a list of valid commands.

I like this.  The error message doesn't scroll off the top of the screen or
get obscured in a pile of possibly irrelevant usage information (if, for
example, I simply typo'd the command) while still pointing the user at
where to get more help.


PS  You mean "Try darcs help" ;)