On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 5:32 AM,
The odds that someone will remember the syntax for the diff command for the VCS are much higher than the revert command. My guess is "diff" is executed more often than any other version control commands except "update" and "commit", and far more often than "revert". Personally, I'm not sure I've ever used "revert" more than a handful of times in my entire professional lifetime.
I realize the world is passing me by and that I'm rapidly turning into a dinosaur w.r.t. distributed version control, but as you write/update the developer's guide remember that proficiency in Python does not necessarily equate to proficiency in version control systems, especially with the less frequently used commands. I personally would prefer that more general commands and concepts be used where possible so that newcomers not be put off unnecessarily by the complexity of version control.
Interesting. I almost *never* reverse patches - I always use the SVN revert command. Usually, this is because I will have edited the source tree since applying the patch. Reversion has the advantage of not getting confused by any additional changes. I also usually use "svn diff" to save a copy before I revert in case I change my mind. Cheers, Nick. -- Nick Coghlan | ncoghlan@gmail.com | Brisbane, Australia