Re: [Gnu-arch-users] NEW: --forward options (alternative to --skip-present)

[Tom Lord]

    > From: "Stephen J. Turnbull" <address@hidden>

    > >>>>> "Tom" == Tom Lord <address@hidden> writes:

    >     Tom> What it "precisely" means is what it causes various arch
    >     Tom> commands to do.

    > Specification by implementation.  :-(


No, not ultimately.

The question concerned the meaning of patch log entries.

They have a conceptually abstract semantic relationship to various
merge command semantics.   Eventually, presumably, that will be
written out.

The point is that what the "precisely" mean, defined formally and
abstractly, is that they mean something particular in relationship to
various arch operators (such as the merge operators).

What they don't "precisely" mean is something well outside the scope
of arch, such as whether or not a particular feature is present or
absent in an arch revision of a given program.   --skip-present, as
rob was using it in this thread, was conflating the idea of "feature
present" and the idea of "what merge operators do".

There's a disconnect there between intensionality and extensionality.
That's all.

-t