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Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 21:56:05 +0200 (CEST)
From: roelof@eboa.com
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Subject: conf/27235: mergemaster needlessly confusing
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>Number:         27235
>Category:       conf
>Synopsis:       three word pairs for the one true pair
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       serious
>Priority:       medium
>Responsible:    freebsd-bugs
>State:          open
>Quarter:        
>Keywords:       
>Date-Required:
>Class:          change-request
>Submitter-Id:   current-users
>Arrival-Date:   Wed May 09 13:00:01 PDT 2001
>Closed-Date:
>Last-Modified:
>Originator:     Roelof Osinga
>Release:        FreeBSD 4.3 i386
>Organization:
eBOA
>Environment:

	

those with mergemaster

>Description:

	

Mergemaster describes the information it is manipulating in various
ways, which looks to me unnecessary and asking for trouble,

For example, a cut&paste from a session:

=======
  Use 'd' to delete the temporary ./etc/login.conf
  Use 'i' to install the temporary ./etc/login.conf
  Use 'm' to merge the old and new versions
  Use 'v' to view to differences between the old and new versions again

# $FreeBSD: src/etc/login.conf,v 1.34 | # $FreeBSD: src/etc/login.conf,v
1.34
%?
l:      use the left version
r:      use the right version

 #
-# $FreeBSD: src/etc/login.conf,v 1.34.2.2 2000/06/02 20:53:55 alfred Exp $
+# $FreeBSD: src/etc/login.conf,v 1.34.2.3 2001/02/27 20:40:41 obrien Exp $
 #
=======

These snippets should illuminate my point. First the user gets
confronted with temporary versus, presumably, untemporary or permanent.
Yet also with old and new versions. From it seems to follow that
the new version is temporary.

Then when you've come across a new, temporary, version of an old and
supposedly untemporary file from which you would like to install
the new version with that one or so changes you made intact it
confronts you with the left/right terminology!

Small matter you say, for the context clarifies which is which. Alas.
In the example given for those line I would like to install the lower,
to coin a frase. Yet the distinctive markings are past the "v 1.34"
characters which are all that get displayed.

Even though I do know that in this case I would like to go with the
newer or temporary or even lower version, I do not know whether that
is the left or right version.

So what's a mere human to do?

>How-To-Repeat:

	
wait till the next upgrade and run mergemaster

>Fix:
	
	
Quite simple actually. Make a choice in a terminology and stick with
that. Be it left, lower, older, temporary or just plain "A".

Concistency is the key to simplicity. Given the context I would pick
'new' and 'old' as operative words. Which would get to...

Unfortunately, it should be done by someone who is absolutely sure
which is which; an that ain't me.
>Release-Note:
>Audit-Trail:
>Unformatted:

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