NAME

App::Git::Ribbon - Review the latest changes to a git repository

SYNOPSIS

    ⚡ git ribbon --save
    ⚡ git pull
    ⚡ git ribbon
    Eric Johnson 6 weeks ago ecf43db
    Css tweaks.
    root/html/calculator/realCost.tt

    press 's' to skip 

    Eric Johnson 4 weeks ago 9595fa0
    fix css margin class.
    root/css/networth.css
    root/css/style.less
    root/css/style.less.old
    root/html/calculator/realCost.tt
    root/html/fi.tt

    press 's' to skip 

    Eric Johnson 2 weeks ago 5ef0fb2
    Added daysPerYear.
    lib/Networth/Controller/Calculator.pm
    lib/Networth/Out/RealCost.pm
    root/html/calculator/realCost.tt

    press 's' to skip 

    # The script will pause when it prints "press 's' to skip".  If you type
    # any key other than 's', you will be shown the diff using `git difftool`.

DESCRIPTION

This Perl script helps you review the latest changes to a git repository.

MOTIVATION

The way I used to review changes was by reading through the `git log`. I try to do this every morning at work to keep up with whats going on. But I was having a few problems:

Its hard to know exactly which changes are new.
I want to review commits in the order they happened (instead of most recent first).
`git log` diff output can be hard to read and may not have enough context -- sometimes I want a side by side diff like I get from `vimdiff` or `git difftool`.

Basically I wanted a quick and easy way to review the latest changes in a way that feels a little more like an RSS feed. So I wrote this script.

HOW TO USE IT

First mark your place with

    git ribbon --save

This will place a tag named _ribbon at origin/master. Basically we are bookmarking our current spot with a 'ribbon'.

Next, pull down the latest changes made by your fellow conspirators from the remote repository.

    git pull

To review those changes do the following:

    git ribbon

After you have reviewed all the changes, mark your place again with:

    git ribbon --save

PRO TIPS

In your .gitconfig add this:

    [diff]
        tool = vimdiff

For more, read `git help difftool` and `git help config`.

However the default colors for vimdiff were created by strange clowns. So try this instead:

    mkdir -p ~/.vim/colors/
    wget https://github.com/kablamo/dotfiles/blob/master/links/.vim/colors/iijo.vim -O ~/tmp/iijo.vim
    echo "colorscheme iijo" >> ~/.vimrc

Then learn how to use vimdiff:

To open and close folds type `zo` and `zo`. For more help type `:help fold-commands`.
To switch windows type `ctl-w l` and `ctl-w h`. For more help type `:help window-move-cursor`.
To quickly exit vimdiff type `ZZ`.

Alternatives to vimdiff

If you don't want to invest the time just yet to learn vim, use an alternative like meld, opendiff, p4merge, xxdiff, etc. Side by side diffs are worth it!

INSTALLATION

cpanm is the standard tool the Perl community uses to download and install Perl libraries from the CPAN. The following should get you up and running quickly:

    curl -L http://cpanmin.us | perl - --sudo App::cpanminus
    cpanm App::Git::Ribbon

SEE ALSO

This script was inspired by a great blog post on gitready.com which has a number of awesome git tricks for both beginners and advanced users.

I also ended up writing a vim plugin that is probably better user experience if you very comfortable in vim.

AUTHOR

Eric Johnson <cpan at iijo dot nospamthanks dot org>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

This software is Copyright (c) 2013 by Eric Johnson.

This is free software, licensed under:

  The Apache License, Version 2.0, January 2004