# pre-commit

This program is a git pre-commit hook that runs an arbitrary set of
syntax, style, and complexity checks against files about to be checked
in.

pre-commit is a git-hook; you install it into your project's .git
directory in .git/hooks and make it executable.  It will run every time
you attempt to commit a collection of files, running the configured list
of linters against those files, and will terminate the check-in if any
of the files fails.

pre-commit uses the `git-stash` command to temporarily store any changes
you may have made between your `git-add` and your `git-commit`; it
therefore checks against your *staged* files, not your *workspace*
files.  Most hooks do the wrong thing and assume your stage and
workspace are the same.  This is not necessarily so.  This has the
unfortunate side-effect of touching every file if things should fail,
which may confuse your IDE.  I haven't quite figured out how to deal
with that.

pre-commit is written in Hy, a Lisp-like dialect of Python.  I find Hy's
support for "cond", complex anonymous functions, and complex return
values highly appealing.  The UTF-8 handling in this script means it is
compatible only with Hy running atop Python3.

pre-commit is based on the pre-commit recommendations in Steve Pulec's
"Why you need a git-hook and why most are wrong" available at:
http://css.dzone.com/articles/why-your-need-git-pre-commit The changes
I've made reflect a different set of needs, different possible ways of
receiving error conditions, and a slightly nicer output.

If, while installing this, you encounter a problem, you must return your
git repository to its original pre-stash state.  Learn to use the
following commands correctly:

`git stash list`

`git stash pop`