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Date:      Fri, 11 Aug 2000 20:23:52 +0200
From:      Gerhard Sittig <Gerhard.Sittig@gmx.net>
To:        freebsd-security@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Unified diff format in output of /etc/security?
Message-ID:  <20000811202352.E261@speedy.gsinet>
In-Reply-To: <11828.965982422@axl.ops.uunet.co.za>; from sheldonh@uunet.co.za on Fri, Aug 11, 2000 at 10:27:02AM %2B0200
References:  <20000810193750.U261@speedy.gsinet> <11828.965982422@axl.ops.uunet.co.za>

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On Fri, Aug 11, 2000 at 10:27 +0200, Sheldon Hearn wrote:
> 
> On Thu, 10 Aug 2000 19:37:51 +0200, Gerhard Sittig wrote:
> 
> > Then what about a "diff -u $FILES | grep -v '^ '"?  Or "diff
> > -u $FILES | grep '^[+-@]'"?  (I guess the first fits better)
> 
> A lot of work for what gain exactly?  You want plusses and
> minuses instead of angle-brackets?  Surely there are more
> important things we could be spending our energy on? :-)

It's not exactly me who wants this change.  But I can feel very
well where this wish comes from.  Since "readability" sometimes
is a question of getting used to or having anything in a similar
manner I'm almost sure that this simple change will make quite
many admins happy.  And I'm very aware of the fact that not every
diff format is equally suitable for any kind of document or
change style.

BTW:  The angle brackets can cause irritation(sp?) quite easily,
especially when sent by email.  The new code looks like a
citation then.  With all the consequences a mail frontend can do
to these in contrast to the other parts of the message.  And have
you ever tried to read a unified diff with a MS "mail frontend"
in its default setup?  Not that I did (I keep away from those as
much as I can), but I've seen how it gets mangled. :)  And
despite of the fact that I don't think context diffs are readable
there are a few people out there who think they are.  And they
might feel strong about this.

So let everyone have _their_ preferred format and enjoy the
positive feedback. :>


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Gerhard Sittig   true | mail -s "get gpg key" Gerhard.Sittig@gmx.net
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