Re: C++ code indentation for GNU

[Niels Möller]

James Youngman <address@hidden> writes:

> It seems to me that if the class name is the right thing to provide as
> context in "git diff" then it would be better were it able to do so
> whatever the indentation of the protection labels.

For a tool like git or gnu diff to identify the top-level thing changed,
it either needs to understand C++, i.e., cooperate with the C++ compiler
in some way, or go by simpler conventions on how programs are written.
It's not just about git; it's useful to be able to operate on source
code with general text utilities which don't build a complete and
correct parsetree.

That definitions of top-level things start with an unindented line is
one such helpful and fairly well established convention. I would guess
the reason diff -p and git consider an unindented foo: as a top-level
definition is that some other languages use that syntax.

Regards,
/Niels

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