In August 2028, will we use the same (textual diff) paradigm for reviewing code changes?
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Currently, we use variously formatted text diffs to review revisions to software code. Will this basically be the case in 2028?

I tried to formalize the resolution criterion but didn't feel like it was adding clarity. So I'll resolve this according to my own subjective judgment.

To help calibrate: I regard "textual diff" as having been the norm for the last 30 years (including sending around patch files).

If I think there have been improvements within the paradigm but it's still the same paradigm, I will resolve YES. I think of the following as improvements within the paradigm:

  • Same as now, but the changed files are ordered by some machine-analyzed logic rather than by alphabetical order

  • Same as now, but the diff view clearly marks when a block of code has been moved without alteration from one location to another

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> Same as now, but the diff view clearly marks when a block of code has been moved without alteration from one location to another

Actually, git already does this, try git diff --find-copies

"Same as now, but the changed files are ordered by some machine-analyzed logic rather than by alphabetical order"
I can imagine features satisfying all sorts of user-preferences, such as refactoring/cleanup diffs that could go at the bottom of the list (a quick google search returned this: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10043292).

My stereotype of programmers as power users leads me to expect such features to eventually be implemented.

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