RFC: Patch View

[Mathias Hasselmann <mathias hasselmann gmx de>]

http://taschenorakel.de/mathias/2009/02/21/reviewing-patches/


> One of the new Giggle features I am most proud of is the new patch
> view, which only shows one chunk at a time and let's you navigate
> between chunks using the file list, toolbar buttons or hotkeys (Alt
> +Up, Alt+Down). At the same time it also is the most criticised
> feature of the new Giggle. So I wonder how to improve that view.
> 
> http://taschenorakel.de/media/movies/giggle-diff-view.ogv
> 
> I've introduced that feature because seeing the entire patch at a time
> distracts me easily. When reviewing patches I want to focus on one
> change at a time. Clearly not an option (in my opinion) is to
> introduce a switch to just show the full patch. I'd break that mode
> far too often cause I'd never use it. That opinion is based on Havoc
> Pennington's excellent article about "Free software UI"[1]. Don't miss
> the chapter "The Question of Preferences".
> 
> So I want to know:
> 
>      1. Why is seeing the entire patch important for you? 
>      2. How much information do you need from a patch at a time? 
>      3. Which ideas do you have for improving the patch view? 
> 
> Keeping my own ideas for myself right now, as I am playing the "Ask
> the Audience"[2] lifeline.
> 

Ciao,
Mathias

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havoc_Pennington
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Wants_to_Be_a_Millionaire
-- 
Mathias Hasselmann <mathias hasselmann gmx de>
Personal Blog: http://taschenorakel.de/mathias/
Openismus GmbH: http://www.openismus.com/