Skip to main content

Splitting a hunk in Git’s patch mode

Posted in Development and Git

When you enter Git’s patch mode, the chunks of code (‘hunks’) you’re offered to stage/skip can sometimes be bigger than you’d want. Maybe a hunk you’re offered contains multiple lines with changes that belong in more than one commit. Luckily, the s option is there to split the hunk down further.

Let’s say we have a file that had 3 lines:

  1. Line 1
  2. Line 2
  3. Line 3

If we forgot to add a space between the word ‘Line’ and its number for lines 1 and 3, we’d go back to fix it; our the diff when we enter patch mode would look like this:

-Line1
+Line 1
Line 2
-Line3
+Line 3

Because the second line is unchanged, the s option will break that hunk down into two smaller hunks, one for Line 1 and the other for Line 3.

If, however, we forgot to add spaces between the word and the number on every line, patch mode wouldn’t offer the s option as we’re unable split the hunk down further. The reason for this is that there are no unchanged lines between those we are changing:

-Line1
+Line 1
-Line2
+Line 2
-Line3
+Line 3

Accessibility in your inbox

I send an accessibility-centric newsletter on the last day of every month, containing:

  • A roundup of the articles I’ve posted
  • A hot pick from my archives
  • Some interesting posts from around the web

I don’t collect any data on when, where or if people open the emails I send them. Your email will only be used to send you newsletters and will never be passed on. You can unsubscribe at any time.

More posts

Here are a couple more posts for you to enjoy. If that’s not enough, have a look at the full list.

  1. Getting started with NVDA

    Everyone who works in digital product development should be familiar with screen reader software. Here’s how to get started with NVDA on Windows.

  2. An enhancement to accessible responsive tables

    I’ve written about accessible responsive tables before but something has been bugging me. So here’s another step to make those tables even better.