[darcs-users] darcs UI: send = bundle file; send --mail = mail

[Eric Kow]

On 3 Aug 2012, at 10:20, Miles Gould wrote:
> 
> This is maybe a little too magical, but would it be possible to detect that situation at runtime? If `which sendmail` returns 0, then invoke sendmail; if not, dump out a patch bundle (and/or complain, saying "couldn't find a mailer: please configure one, or use darcs patch-bundle").

> I guess it would be too hard to tell an installed-but-misconfigured mailer from a properly configured mailer, though, so maybe stupid-and-robust is the way to go.

So the issue (at least for MacOS) is that people *do* have mailers; they're just not configured.  The sendmail command even accepts posts and everything and darcs is none the wiser.

I was thinking of using something like a forcing mechanism where darcs send doesn't actual work/send until you insist (by setting a global flag) that you have a working mailer.

> I for one would be confused by a "send" command that doesn't send anything - both when trying to figure out the behaviour of "darcs send" and when trying to work out which command I need to create a patch file.


Here's the current output when you just use Darcs send (using the proposed UI)

Wrote patch to /home/foo/blop/twiddle-the-plixes.dpatch.
The usual recipent for this bundle is: joe at blah.com
To send it automatically, set up sendmail, and add 'send mail' in your defaults

The wording needs some work, but does the fact that darcs send tells you what to do next avoid the potential for confusion?

-- 
Eric Kow <http://erickow.com>