Re: Do we want 'svn patch' to be able to add empty files?

Daniel Näslund wrote on Wed, Sep 01, 2010 at 11:28:51 +0200:
> (This started out as me trying to apply added paths using the information
> from a patch file in the git diff format. The only that I could come up
> with where an add could not be detected by just looking at the regular
> unidiff headers was adding an empty file (it has no unidiff headers).
> If anyone has any other cases, please let me know.)
>

How does a diff adding an empty file look?

> The question is: Do we want 'svn patch to be able to add empty files.
>
> + It's consistent with the idea of a git diff dealing with tree changes.
> - It adds an extra special case to the code. I've seen GNU patch with
> its gigantic if-spaghetti's. Just don't want to obscure the code with
> something that's not needed.

> - There might not be a use case for it, though I think I've heard of the
> use of empty files as markers. Just can't come up with an example
> right now.

Two examples:

* vimrc. (Vim behaves differently with no vimrc than with an empty vimrc)

* pseudo-targets for makefiles
    foo:
            $commands
            touch $@
Received on 2010-09-01 22:00:34 CEST