[RFC PATCH] rev-parse: fix segfault with missing --path-format argument

[RFC PATCH] rev-parse: fix segfault with missing --path-format argument

[Wolfgang Müller]

Calling "git rev-parse --path-format" without an argument segfaults
instead of giving an error message. Commit fac60b8925 (rev-parse: add
option for absolute or relative path formatting, 2020-12-13) added the
argument parsing code but forgot to handle NULL.

Returning an error makes sense here because there is no default value we
could use. Add a test case to verify.

Signed-off-by: Wolfgang Müller <wolf@oriole.systems>
---
Since this is my first contribution to the project and I'm still
learning the ropes, I left this patch as RFC.

For a bit of background information, I ran into this expecting the
following to work:

	git rev-parse --path-format relative --show-toplevel

I'm unsure how many git subcommands specifically require "=" between the
option and the argument, but before now I always expected things to
"just work" when leaving it out.

This fix is based on maint.

Thanks for your time and attention.

 builtin/rev-parse.c  | 2 ++
 t/t1500-rev-parse.sh | 4 ++++
 2 files changed, 6 insertions(+)

diff --git a/builtin/rev-parse.c b/builtin/rev-parse.c
index 85bad9052e..7af8dab8bc 100644
--- a/builtin/rev-parse.c
+++ b/builtin/rev-parse.c
@@ -759,6 +759,8 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 				continue;
 			}
 			if (opt_with_value(arg, "--path-format", &arg)) {
+				if (!arg)
+					die("--path-format requires an argument");
 				if (!strcmp(arg, "absolute")) {
 					format = FORMAT_CANONICAL;
 				} else if (!strcmp(arg, "relative")) {
diff --git a/t/t1500-rev-parse.sh b/t/t1500-rev-parse.sh
index deae916707..a1a8ce5265 100755
--- a/t/t1500-rev-parse.sh
+++ b/t/t1500-rev-parse.sh
@@ -146,6 +146,10 @@ test_expect_success '--path-format can change in the middle of the command line'
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success '--path-format does not segfault without an argument' '
+	test_must_fail git rev-parse --path-format --show-toplevel
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'git-common-dir from worktree root' '
 	echo .git >expect &&
 	git rev-parse --git-common-dir >actual &&
-- 
2.31.1

Re: [RFC PATCH] rev-parse: fix segfault with missing --path-format argument

[Junio C Hamano]

Wolfgang Müller <wolf@oriole.systems> writes:

> Calling "git rev-parse --path-format" without an argument segfaults
> instead of giving an error message. Commit fac60b8925 (rev-parse: add
> option for absolute or relative path formatting, 2020-12-13) added the
> argument parsing code but forgot to handle NULL.
>
> Returning an error makes sense here because there is no default value we
> could use. Add a test case to verify.
>
> Signed-off-by: Wolfgang Müller <wolf@oriole.systems>
> ---
> Since this is my first contribution to the project and I'm still
> learning the ropes, I left this patch as RFC.
>
> For a bit of background information, I ran into this expecting the
> following to work:
>
> 	git rev-parse --path-format relative --show-toplevel
>
> I'm unsure how many git subcommands specifically require "=" between the
> option and the argument, but before now I always expected things to
> "just work" when leaving it out.
>
> This fix is based on maint.
>
> Thanks for your time and attention.

Nicely done.

>  builtin/rev-parse.c  | 2 ++
>  t/t1500-rev-parse.sh | 4 ++++
>  2 files changed, 6 insertions(+)
>
> diff --git a/builtin/rev-parse.c b/builtin/rev-parse.c
> index 85bad9052e..7af8dab8bc 100644
> --- a/builtin/rev-parse.c
> +++ b/builtin/rev-parse.c
> @@ -759,6 +759,8 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
>  				continue;
>  			}
>  			if (opt_with_value(arg, "--path-format", &arg)) {
> +				if (!arg)
> +					die("--path-format requires an argument");

As die() is end-user facing, you'd probably want

	die(_("--path-format requires an argument"));

We do have untranslated die() nearby for the same option, which may
want to be cleaned up either in a preliminary patch, or in this same
patch as an unrelated fix "while we are at it".

>  				if (!strcmp(arg, "absolute")) {
>  					format = FORMAT_CANONICAL;
>  				} else if (!strcmp(arg, "relative")) {
> diff --git a/t/t1500-rev-parse.sh b/t/t1500-rev-parse.sh
> index deae916707..a1a8ce5265 100755
> --- a/t/t1500-rev-parse.sh
> +++ b/t/t1500-rev-parse.sh
> @@ -146,6 +146,10 @@ test_expect_success '--path-format can change in the middle of the command line'
>  	test_cmp expect actual
>  '
>  
> +test_expect_success '--path-format does not segfault without an argument' '
> +	test_must_fail git rev-parse --path-format --show-toplevel

The above is certainly worth testing for, but if we ever upgrade the
command line parser of "rev-parse" to be compatible with the parser
based on the parse-options API to allow both "--opt=val" and "--opt
val", it will start to fail for an entirely different reason, namely
"--show-toplevel" will be taken as the argument to "--path-format",
and we'd get "unknown argument to --path-format".  So it might be
prudent to test both, i.e.

	test_must_fail git rev-parse --path-format --show-toplevel &&
	test_must_fail git rev-parse --show-toplevel --path-format

Re: [RFC PATCH] rev-parse: fix segfault with missing --path-format argument

[Wolfgang Müller]

On 2021-05-16 21:53, Junio C Hamano wrote:

> As die() is end-user facing, you'd probably want
> 
> 	die(_("--path-format requires an argument"));
> 
> We do have untranslated die() nearby for the same option, which may
> want to be cleaned up either in a preliminary patch, or in this same
> patch as an unrelated fix "while we are at it".

I would not mind preparing a preliminary patch that cleans up all
untranslated user-facing calls to die(). My editor finds 15 of those in
rev-parse.c, and I think they all qualify.

If you'd rather not touch unrelated code paths I'll instead include it
in v2 as an unrelated fix in the same commit.

> The above is certainly worth testing for, but if we ever upgrade the
> command line parser of "rev-parse" to be compatible with the parser
> based on the parse-options API to allow both "--opt=val" and "--opt
> val", it will start to fail for an entirely different reason, namely
> "--show-toplevel" will be taken as the argument to "--path-format",
> and we'd get "unknown argument to --path-format".  So it might be
> prudent to test both, i.e.
> 
> 	test_must_fail git rev-parse --path-format --show-toplevel &&
> 	test_must_fail git rev-parse --show-toplevel --path-format

I think I initially went for "--path-format --show-toplevel" because I
was under the assumption that --path-format needs another option it can
modify. It seems that this is not the case, so wouldn't it be simpler
here to do the following instead:

	test_must_fail git rev-parse --path-format

That way we do not have to worry about subsequent changes to other,
unrelated, options.

-- 
Wolfgang

Re: [RFC PATCH] rev-parse: fix segfault with missing --path-format argument

[Junio C Hamano]

Wolfgang Müller <wolf@oriole.systems> writes:

> On 2021-05-16 21:53, Junio C Hamano wrote:
>
>> As die() is end-user facing, you'd probably want
>> 
>> 	die(_("--path-format requires an argument"));
>> 
>> We do have untranslated die() nearby for the same option, which may
>> want to be cleaned up either in a preliminary patch, or in this same
>> patch as an unrelated fix "while we are at it".
>
> I would not mind preparing a preliminary patch that cleans up all
> untranslated user-facing calls to die(). My editor finds 15 of those in
> rev-parse.c, and I think they all qualify.
>
> If you'd rather not touch unrelated code paths I'll instead include it
> in v2 as an unrelated fix in the same commit.

I am puzzled by the last paragraph.  Somebody who does not want to
see "unrelated" codepaths touched would appreciate if a commit that
fixes this segfault does not touch them at the same time.

In any case, I now counted existing die() messages in this file, and
among 15 of them, only 1 is marked with _(...).  I think that it
is the best to apply the patch as-is (without _(...)), adding one
untranslated message to the file.

Then, on top of this change, the 15 untranslated messages can be
marked with _(...) a separate commit (and it does not even have to
be done by you).

> I think I initially went for "--path-format --show-toplevel" because I
> was under the assumption that --path-format needs another option it can
> modify. It seems that this is not the case, so wouldn't it be simpler
> here to do the following instead:
>
> 	test_must_fail git rev-parse --path-format
>
> That way we do not have to worry about subsequent changes to other,
> unrelated, options.

That's good, too.  Simple.

Thanks.

Re: [RFC PATCH] rev-parse: fix segfault with missing --path-format argument

[Wolfgang Müller]

On 2021-05-17 06:59, Junio C Hamano wrote:

> >> We do have untranslated die() nearby for the same option, which may
> >> want to be cleaned up either in a preliminary patch, or in this
> >> same patch as an unrelated fix "while we are at it".
> >
> > I would not mind preparing a preliminary patch that cleans up all
> > untranslated user-facing calls to die(). My editor finds 15 of those
> > in rev-parse.c, and I think they all qualify.
> >
> > If you'd rather not touch unrelated code paths I'll instead include
> > it in v2 as an unrelated fix in the same commit.
> 
> I am puzzled by the last paragraph.  Somebody who does not want to see
> "unrelated" codepaths touched would appreciate if a commit that fixes
> this segfault does not touch them at the same time.

Apologies, I was being unclear here. I was meaning to offer either
cleaning up all calls to die() in a separate patch, or fixing only the
nearby occurrence that you mentioned in the same patch. I had implicitly
assumed you had seen the other untranslated messages already but only
wanted to fix the one for the same option (ie in a nearby, "related"
path).

> In any case, I now counted existing die() messages in this file, and
> among 15 of them, only 1 is marked with _(...).  I think that it
> is the best to apply the patch as-is (without _(...)), adding one
> untranslated message to the file.

Will do.

> Then, on top of this change, the 15 untranslated messages can be
> marked with _(...) a separate commit (and it does not even have to
> be done by you).

I don't mind doing this, so I'll include it.

> That's good, too.  Simple.
> 
> Thanks.

Thanks a lot for your feedback, I'll be sending v2 along shortly.

-- 
Wolfgang

[PATCH v2 0/2] rev-parse: Fix segfault and translate messages

[Wolfgang Müller]

This series fixes a segfault in rev-parse and, whilst we're there, marks
previously untranslated error messages for translation.

Compared to v1, this series simplifies the test for --path-format
without and argument and adds the translation fix on top.

Wolfgang Müller (2):
  rev-parse: fix segfault with missing --path-format argument
  rev-parse: Mark die() messages for translation

 builtin/rev-parse.c  | 30 ++++++++++++++++--------------
 t/t1500-rev-parse.sh |  4 ++++
 2 files changed, 20 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)

-- 
2.31.1

[PATCH v2 1/2] rev-parse: fix segfault with missing --path-format argument

[Wolfgang Müller]

Calling "git rev-parse --path-format" without an argument segfaults
instead of giving an error message. Commit fac60b8925 (rev-parse: add
option for absolute or relative path formatting, 2020-12-13) added the
argument parsing code but forgot to handle NULL.

Returning an error makes sense here because there is no default value we
could use. Add a test case to verify.

Signed-off-by: Wolfgang Müller <wolf@oriole.systems>
---
 builtin/rev-parse.c  | 2 ++
 t/t1500-rev-parse.sh | 4 ++++
 2 files changed, 6 insertions(+)

diff --git a/builtin/rev-parse.c b/builtin/rev-parse.c
index 85bad9052e..7af8dab8bc 100644
--- a/builtin/rev-parse.c
+++ b/builtin/rev-parse.c
@@ -759,6 +759,8 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 				continue;
 			}
 			if (opt_with_value(arg, "--path-format", &arg)) {
+				if (!arg)
+					die("--path-format requires an argument");
 				if (!strcmp(arg, "absolute")) {
 					format = FORMAT_CANONICAL;
 				} else if (!strcmp(arg, "relative")) {
diff --git a/t/t1500-rev-parse.sh b/t/t1500-rev-parse.sh
index deae916707..1c2df08333 100755
--- a/t/t1500-rev-parse.sh
+++ b/t/t1500-rev-parse.sh
@@ -146,6 +146,10 @@ test_expect_success '--path-format can change in the middle of the command line'
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success '--path-format does not segfault without an argument' '
+	test_must_fail git rev-parse --path-format
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'git-common-dir from worktree root' '
 	echo .git >expect &&
 	git rev-parse --git-common-dir >actual &&
-- 
2.31.1

[PATCH v2 2/2] rev-parse: Mark die() messages for translation

[Wolfgang Müller]

These error messages are intended for the user. Let's touch them up
since we're here from the previous commit.

Signed-off-by: Wolfgang Müller <wolf@oriole.systems>
---
 builtin/rev-parse.c | 30 +++++++++++++++---------------
 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 15 deletions(-)

diff --git a/builtin/rev-parse.c b/builtin/rev-parse.c
index 7af8dab8bc..22c4e1a4ff 100644
--- a/builtin/rev-parse.c
+++ b/builtin/rev-parse.c
@@ -435,11 +435,11 @@ static int cmd_parseopt(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	/* get the usage up to the first line with a -- on it */
 	for (;;) {
 		if (strbuf_getline(&sb, stdin) == EOF)
-			die("premature end of input");
+			die(_("premature end of input"));
 		ALLOC_GROW(usage, unb + 1, usz);
 		if (!strcmp("--", sb.buf)) {
 			if (unb < 1)
-				die("no usage string given before the `--' separator");
+				die(_("no usage string given before the `--' separator"));
 			usage[unb] = NULL;
 			break;
 		}
@@ -545,7 +545,7 @@ static void die_no_single_rev(int quiet)
 	if (quiet)
 		exit(1);
 	else
-		die("Needed a single revision");
+		die(_("Needed a single revision"));
 }
 
 static const char builtin_rev_parse_usage[] =
@@ -709,10 +709,10 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			if (!strcmp(arg, "--resolve-git-dir")) {
 				const char *gitdir = argv[++i];
 				if (!gitdir)
-					die("--resolve-git-dir requires an argument");
+					die(_("--resolve-git-dir requires an argument"));
 				gitdir = resolve_gitdir(gitdir);
 				if (!gitdir)
-					die("not a gitdir '%s'", argv[i]);
+					die(_("not a gitdir '%s'"), argv[i]);
 				puts(gitdir);
 				continue;
 			}
@@ -736,7 +736,7 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		if (!seen_end_of_options && *arg == '-') {
 			if (!strcmp(arg, "--git-path")) {
 				if (!argv[i + 1])
-					die("--git-path requires an argument");
+					die(_("--git-path requires an argument"));
 				strbuf_reset(&buf);
 				print_path(git_path("%s", argv[i + 1]), prefix,
 						format,
@@ -746,7 +746,7 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			}
 			if (!strcmp(arg,"-n")) {
 				if (++i >= argc)
-					die("-n requires an argument");
+					die(_("-n requires an argument"));
 				if ((filter & DO_FLAGS) && (filter & DO_REVS)) {
 					show(arg);
 					show(argv[i]);
@@ -760,26 +760,26 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			}
 			if (opt_with_value(arg, "--path-format", &arg)) {
 				if (!arg)
-					die("--path-format requires an argument");
+					die(_("--path-format requires an argument"));
 				if (!strcmp(arg, "absolute")) {
 					format = FORMAT_CANONICAL;
 				} else if (!strcmp(arg, "relative")) {
 					format = FORMAT_RELATIVE;
 				} else {
-					die("unknown argument to --path-format: %s", arg);
+					die(_("unknown argument to --path-format: %s"), arg);
 				}
 				continue;
 			}
 			if (!strcmp(arg, "--default")) {
 				def = argv[++i];
 				if (!def)
-					die("--default requires an argument");
+					die(_("--default requires an argument"));
 				continue;
 			}
 			if (!strcmp(arg, "--prefix")) {
 				prefix = argv[++i];
 				if (!prefix)
-					die("--prefix requires an argument");
+					die(_("--prefix requires an argument"));
 				startup_info->prefix = prefix;
 				output_prefix = 1;
 				continue;
@@ -848,7 +848,7 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 					else if (!strcmp(arg, "loose"))
 						abbrev_ref_strict = 0;
 					else
-						die("unknown mode for --abbrev-ref: %s",
+						die(_("unknown mode for --abbrev-ref: %s"),
 						    arg);
 				}
 				continue;
@@ -892,7 +892,7 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 				if (work_tree)
 					print_path(work_tree, prefix, format, DEFAULT_UNMODIFIED);
 				else
-					die("this operation must be run in a work tree");
+					die(_("this operation must be run in a work tree"));
 				continue;
 			}
 			if (!strcmp(arg, "--show-superproject-working-tree")) {
@@ -1020,7 +1020,7 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 				if (strcmp(val, "storage") &&
 				    strcmp(val, "input") &&
 				    strcmp(val, "output"))
-					die("unknown mode for --show-object-format: %s",
+					die(_("unknown mode for --show-object-format: %s"),
 					    arg);
 				puts(the_hash_algo->name);
 				continue;
@@ -1058,7 +1058,7 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		if (verify)
 			die_no_single_rev(quiet);
 		if (has_dashdash)
-			die("bad revision '%s'", arg);
+			die(_("bad revision '%s'"), arg);
 		as_is = 1;
 		if (!show_file(arg, output_prefix))
 			continue;
-- 
2.31.1

Re: [PATCH v2 1/2] rev-parse: fix segfault with missing --path-format argument

[Jeff King]

On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 10:02:42AM +0200, Wolfgang Müller wrote:

> Calling "git rev-parse --path-format" without an argument segfaults
> instead of giving an error message. Commit fac60b8925 (rev-parse: add
> option for absolute or relative path formatting, 2020-12-13) added the
> argument parsing code but forgot to handle NULL.
> 
> Returning an error makes sense here because there is no default value we
> could use. Add a test case to verify.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Wolfgang Müller <wolf@oriole.systems>
> ---
>  builtin/rev-parse.c  | 2 ++
>  t/t1500-rev-parse.sh | 4 ++++
>  2 files changed, 6 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/builtin/rev-parse.c b/builtin/rev-parse.c
> index 85bad9052e..7af8dab8bc 100644
> --- a/builtin/rev-parse.c
> +++ b/builtin/rev-parse.c
> @@ -759,6 +759,8 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
>  				continue;
>  			}
>  			if (opt_with_value(arg, "--path-format", &arg)) {
> +				if (!arg)
> +					die("--path-format requires an argument");
>  				if (!strcmp(arg, "absolute")) {
>  					format = FORMAT_CANONICAL;
>  				} else if (!strcmp(arg, "relative")) {

This looks like a fine solution, but I do think this code using
opt_with_value() is a bit of a curiosity in the first place. I looked at
the other callers (because I wanted to see if there were similar
problems), and they are all cases where the argument is truly optional
(so matching "--foo" or "--foo=bar" is correct, and matching "--foo bar"
would be actively wrong).

For cases where the argument is not optional, we seem to use
skip_prefix(), like:

diff --git a/builtin/rev-parse.c b/builtin/rev-parse.c
index c4263404bd..9553cc7c10 100644
--- a/builtin/rev-parse.c
+++ b/builtin/rev-parse.c
@@ -760,7 +760,7 @@ int cmd_rev_parse(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 					show(arg);
 				continue;
 			}
-			if (opt_with_value(arg, "--path-format", &arg)) {
+			if (skip_prefix(arg, "--path-format=", &arg)) {
 				if (!strcmp(arg, "absolute")) {
 					format = FORMAT_CANONICAL;
 				} else if (!strcmp(arg, "relative")) {

I don't have a strong preference for one or the other. It is maybe
helpful to diagnose "--path-format" without an equals as an error, as
your patch would, rather than quietly passing it along as an unknown (as
the hunk above would). I dunno. That perhaps applies to the rest of the
options, too. :)

(In an ideal world, we would probably match "--path-format <arg>" here,
as our usual parse-options API does. But that is a much bigger change).

-Peff

Re: [PATCH v2 1/2] rev-parse: fix segfault with missing --path-format argument

[Wolfgang Müller]

On 2021-05-17 04:16, Jeff King wrote:

> I don't have a strong preference for one or the other. It is maybe
> helpful to diagnose "--path-format" without an equals as an error, as
> your patch would, rather than quietly passing it along as an unknown
> (as the hunk above would). I dunno. That perhaps applies to the rest
> of the options, too. :)

I have a very slight preference for throwing an error: that is what I
expected to happen as a user. At the same time, passing it along as an
unknown seems more consistent with the other options that take equals.
I'm split on this, and would defer to what people here prefer.

Short of fully migrating to the parse-options API, I do not see a
perfect solution for this, especially since there are options that take
optional arguments which are not delimited by equals. These seem to be
sprinkled throughout and all error out if no argument is given.

Here's a small selection:

	Option                   Section in manual        Parser

	--default <arg>          Options for Output       manual
	--prefix <arg>           Options for Output       manual
	--short[=length]         Options for Output       opt_with_value
	--path-format=[..]       Options for Files        opt_with_value
	--git-path <path>        Options for Files        manual
	--disambiguate=<prefix>  Options for Objects      skip_prefix

Out of curiosity I decided to dig around a bit, my hunch being that
arguments without equals are older.

I can trace --default back to 178cb24338 (Add 'git-rev-parse' helper
script, 2005-06-13). That seems to be the very first version of
git-rev-parse.

The first options with equals, --since= et al., were added in c1babb1d65
([PATCH] Teach "git-rev-parse" about date-based cut-offs, 2005-09-20)

The --short option used to be --abbrev, and was added in d50125085a
(rev-parse: --abbrev option., 2006-01-25). Then, quite a bit later, the
second option without equals was added in abc06822af (rev-parse: add
option --resolve-git-dir <path>, 2011-08-15).

--prefix goes back to 12b9d32790 (rev-parse: add --prefix option,
2013-06-16) and --git-path is 557bd833bb (git_path(): be aware of file
relocation in $GIT_DIR, 2014-11-30)

So it turns out that my hunch was not really correct. Maybe there's also
a pattern that I am not seeing. Obviously this has no bearing on the
segfault fix, but is maybe valuable information for a conversion to the
parse-options API down the line. It was also fun to figure out, since I
could not stop thinking about rev-parse having a bunch of different
option semantics.

-- 
Wolfgang

Re: [PATCH v2 1/2] rev-parse: fix segfault with missing --path-format argument

[Wolfgang Müller]

On 2021-05-19 11:52, Wolfgang Müller wrote:

> Short of fully migrating to the parse-options API, I do not see a
> perfect solution for this, especially since there are options that take
> optional arguments which are not delimited by equals. These seem to be
> sprinkled throughout and all error out if no argument is given.

Upon rereading this I noticed an error, I meant to say "especially since
there are options that *require* arguments which are not delimited by
equals.", like --default, --prefix, and --git-path for example.

-- 
Wolfgang

Re: [PATCH v2 1/2] rev-parse: fix segfault with missing --path-format argument

[Jeff King]

On Wed, May 19, 2021 at 11:52:35AM +0200, Wolfgang Müller wrote:

> On 2021-05-17 04:16, Jeff King wrote:
> 
> > I don't have a strong preference for one or the other. It is maybe
> > helpful to diagnose "--path-format" without an equals as an error, as
> > your patch would, rather than quietly passing it along as an unknown
> > (as the hunk above would). I dunno. That perhaps applies to the rest
> > of the options, too. :)
> 
> I have a very slight preference for throwing an error: that is what I
> expected to happen as a user. At the same time, passing it along as an
> unknown seems more consistent with the other options that take equals.
> I'm split on this, and would defer to what people here prefer.

Yeah, I don't feel strongly at all. I like consistency, but noticing
bogus input is good, too. ;)

> Short of fully migrating to the parse-options API, I do not see a
> perfect solution for this, especially since there are options that take
> optional arguments which are not delimited by equals. These seem to be
> sprinkled throughout and all error out if no argument is given.

Ultimately I think using the parse-options API would be nice. In the
meantime, I suspect (but didn't think too hard on it) that you could get
by with two helpers:

  - rename the current opt_with_value() to opt_with_optional_value()
    to make its assumptions clear.

  - add a new helper opt_with_required_value() that accepts either:

      --default <arg>
      --default=<arg>
      --disambiguate <arg>
      --disambiguate=<arg>
      etc...

     and complains when the "=" is missing, or there is no extra "<arg>"
     available.

The second helper is a little tricky to write, because it sometimes
needs to advance argv (and decrement argc) to account for the extra
consumed arg.

That's definitely something we can leave off for now, though.

> So it turns out that my hunch was not really correct. Maybe there's also
> a pattern that I am not seeing.

I don't find it hard to believe that there's no obvious pattern. :) I
would say that rev-parse is one of the messiest and most "organically
grown" parts of Git.

Thanks for digging, though. It is always nice to see contributors going
the extra mile to figure out how their solutions fit into the bigger
picture of the project.

-Peff