Git porcelain has improved a lot, it still has a couple of rough spots. Here are a couple of git aliases that make my git workflow more pleasant:

• Dealing with aliases

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  git config --global --add alias.add-alias \ '!f() { git config --global --add alias.$1 "$2"; }; f' git add-alias aliases 'config --get-regexp ^alias' git config --global --add alias.rm-alias \ '!f() { git config --global --unset alias.$1 ;  }; f'

• Basic shortcuts

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  git add-alias stat status git add-alias co checkout git add-alias ci commit git add-alias br branch git add-alias fa 'fetch --all' git add-alias pullff 'pull --ff-only' git add-alias pullrb 'pull --rebase' git add-alias rbi 'rebase -i' git add-alias bi bisect

• Informational

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  git add-alias root 'rev-parse --show-toplevel' git add-alias wb 'rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD' git add-alias desc 'describe --dirty --abbrev=40' git add-alias bll 'branch -vv --list' git add-alias where \ '! echo "* HEAD:" $(git desc); git bll $(git wb)'

• Branches

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  git add-alias bup-om \ 'branch --set-upstream-to origin/master' git add-alias cob 'checkout -b' git add-alias cot 'checkout -b -t'

• Fundamental settings

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  git config --global --add push.default simple git config --global --add core.ui true git config --global --add core.whitespace \ trailing-space,space-before-tab,tab-in-indent git config --global --add merge.conflictstyle diff3

  Of course you must set user.email and user.name. If signing of commits is desired then set user.signingKey.
  

Previously… Useful bash functions

This new version is a tad more efficient since there are no more echo and pipes involved on the processing. Just one eval and one awk script.

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unique_path() {

  eval $(awk -v VAR="${1}" 'BEGIN {                 \

    if((N=split(ENVIRON[VAR],vals,":"))<2) exit(0); \

    sep = out="" ; i=split(out,seen);               \

    do { if(!(vals[++i] in seen)) { seen[vals[i]];  \

           gsub("[\"]","\\\"",vals[i]);             \

           out=sprintf("%s%s%s",out,sep,vals[i]);   \

           sep=":";                                 \

    } } while (i<N);                                \

    printf "%s=\"%s\"; export %s;\n",VAR,out,VAR;   \

  }' /dev/null)

}

Similarly, these also had remove unnecessary uses of sub-shell echo…

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safe_prepend_path() {

  VAR=$1 ; shift ; eval VAL=\$${VAR}

  for i_;do [ -d "$i_" ] && VAL=$i_${VAL:+":$VAL"} ;done

  eval export ${VAR}=${VAL}

}



safe_append_path() {

  VAR=$1 ; shift ; eval VAL=\$${VAR}

  for i_;do [ -d "$i_" ] && VAL=${VAL:+"$VAL:"}$i_ ;done

  eval export ${VAR}=${VAL}

}

If you are like me, you have regular conference calls where you have to send some bridge identification number or profile to sign in.

On a Nokia N9 it’s really not obvious how to set up a contact that automatically sends those digits after the call is connected, especially if you use the Swype virtual keyboard.

The first thing to know is that in order to specify a pause separation for the digits you need to enter a ‘p’. To me this was a surprise, as I was used to other cellphones which used the comma (‘,’), semi-colon (‘;’) or period (‘.’) for the same purpose, sometimes with different pause intervals

If you have swype, when you enter a phone number here is what the screen looks like the image below, a numeric pad virtual keyboard. You disregard the currency symbols and try to enter either the comma or the period and they don’t work.

What you need to do is to tap the bottom ABC button so that it switches to the main alphanumeric virtual keyboard and then you can enter the ‘p’.

You have the stock virtual keyboard things are a little simpler, you tap the ‘*’ and notice how it becomes red underlined, tap again and it becomes a ‘+’ and again… the ‘p’ finally. The three taps have to be in quick succession.