[darcs-devel] [issue1457] Replace --no-foo with --foo=no

[Eric Kow]

Eric Kow <kowey at darcs.net> added the comment:

I'm becoming a fan of this proposal (provided we can do it in a not too 
disruptive way).

See this example case using darcs record help.

See notes [!!!] for places where the flag change is relatively large

darcs record help for issue1457

Options:
  -m PATCHNAME  --name=PATCHNAME                         name of patch
  -A EMAIL      --author=EMAIL                           specify author 
id
                --test[=yes/no]                          run the test 
script (default: no)
                --remove-test-directory[=yes/no]         remove the test 
directory (default: yes) [!!!]
  -a            --all                                    answer yes to 
all patches
                --pipe                                   ask user 
interactively for the patch metadata
  -i            --interactive[=yes/no]                   prompt user 
interactively (default: yes)
                --ask-deps[=yes/no]                      ask for extra 
dependencies (default: no)
                --edit-long-comment[=yes/no/prompt]      edit the long 
comment by default (default: prompt) [!!!]
  -l            --look-for-adds[=yes/no]                 look for (non-
boring) files that could be added (default: no)
                --repodir=DIRECTORY                      specify the 
repository directory in which to run
                --disable                                disable this 
command
  -h            --help                                   shows brief 
description of command and its arguments

Advanced options:
                --debug[=yes/no]                         give debug 
output
                --debug-http                             give debug 
output for libcurl
  -v            --verbosity[=0..2]                       verbosity level 
(default: 1) [!!!]
  -q            --quiet                                  suppress 
informational output (same as --verbosity=quiet)
                --timings                                provide 
debugging timings information
                --logfile=FILE                           give patch name 
and comment in file
                --delete-logfile[=yes/no]                delete the 
logfile when done (default: no)
                --compress[=yes/no]                      create 
compressed patches (default: yes)
                --trust-times[=yes/no]                   trust the file 
modification times (default: yes) [!!!]
                --umask=UMASK                            specify umask 
to use when writing
                --set-scripts-executable[=yes/no]        make scripts 
executable (default: no)
                --use-cache[=yes/no]                     use patch 
caches (default: yes) [!!!]
                --posthook=COMMAND                       specify command 
to run after this darcs command
                --run-posthook[=yes/no/prompt]           run posthook 
command (default: prompt)
                --prehook=COMMAND                        specify command 
to run before this darcs command
                --run-prehook[=yes/no/prompt]            run prehook 
command without prompting (default: prompt)

Notes
-----
One potential principle (to be taken with a grain of salt) is that
--foo=[yes/no] flags should (A) use a verb and (B) use the verb that 
most
evokes darcs actively doing something.

So --test-directory[=remove/leave] is potentially confusing because if 
you're
not paying attention, you might think that one should pass in a test 
directory
name to that flag.

Likewise, --leave-test-directory is perhaps suboptimal compared to
--remove-test-directory (because it means you're passing a flag to tell 
darcs
to *not* take an action).

This second half of this principle slightly improves resistance to 
defaults
changing (in other words, if you make the decision on the basis of
--remove-directory being the default and --leave-directory being the 
special
case, then the day you change your mind about the default, the basis for 
your
choice is rendered void).

* remove-test-directory: was --{remove,leave}-test-directory.
  thinking that --test-directory expects a directory
* edit-long-comment: was --{edit,no,prompt}-long-comment
* verbosity: was --verbose, --standard-verbosity, --quiet.  Note that 
debug output
  is considered orthogonal to this (you could have --debug -q).

  Note also that the default for the command would be --verbosity=1 (no 
args),
  but if you just supply --verbosity you get --verbosity=2.  This sort 
of confusion
  makse me think it's best to make the argument a required one.
* trust-times: was --{dont-,no-,}ignore-times; I figured that the 
double-negative
  --ignore-times=no would just confuse people
* use-cache: was --no-cache (with no option to override!)

----------
nosy: +mornfall -darcs-devel

__________________________________
Darcs bug tracker <bugs at darcs.net>
<http://bugs.darcs.net/issue1457>
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