RE: Tip for reading GitHub pull requests

From: Andrew Kirkpatrick [mailto:akirkpat@adobe.com]
Sent: Monday, April 25, 2016 11:33 AM


If you are looking at a GitHub pull request it is good to know that there are two views - “unified” and “split”.  For me these could be re-labled “hard to read” and “easier to read”.  I try to remember to add the “?diff=split” to the URIs when sending them around, but GitHub remembers my preference so doesn’t bother with the URL parameter when I click on a pull request while showing me the code the way that I wanted to view it last.

It’s also worth noting that Git has a “word diff” mode, which is often better for comparing text in a document, as it shows the differences word by word rather than line by line. Insertions are presented {+like this+} and deletions {-like this-}; colour can also be used.

To the best of my knowledge, the GitHub Web interface doesn’t support this mode, but Git itself does. You can also configure it to some extent to take account of the syntax of your markup language. I used this feature extensively while in the final stages of revising my PhD for submission, a process of responding to comments from thesis examiners.


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