Response to issue #1232: "Close garbage PRs"

[davidhedlund]

I’m unable to post directly to #1232 for some reason, but I’d like to address some of the concerns raised and clarify my approach regarding merging.

the following are mistake-riddled, content-free PRs

I respectfully disagree. Each pull request was carefully prepared and thoroughly reviewed. I have systematically compared every relevant driver, controller, and related issues, tracking all changes in a detailed spreadsheet. My goal has always been to improve the repository’s accuracy and consistency.

that thrash commit history for no sensible reason.

All changes and justifications are clearly documented in the "Conversation" tab of each PR. I have made multiple revisions in response to feedback and new findings—particularly because the controller driver documentation was previously incomplete. As I discovered undocumented behaviors, I updated both the code and the documentation accordingly.

the contributor who opened them has already done enough damage to the project

I acknowledge my earlier mistake in PR #1062 from December 2023, for which I have already apologized. At that time, all changes were fully reverted and the repository was restored. It’s important to note that there was no documented policy regarding these changes at the time, which contributed to the misunderstanding.

Regarding the current PRs, I recognize that the commit history may appear less tidy than ideal. This was primarily due to unclear or missing documentation, which led me to discover and address multiple issues on a daily basis—often requiring frequent updates to each controller file throughout the day. To keep things organized, I found it more convenient to maintain a change log in the PR’s Conversation thread, documenting each update as it was made.

Since then, I have made significant efforts to improve the documentation, as can be seen in my recent contributions. I am committed to learning from these experiences and ensuring that similar issues do not occur in the future.

these should be closed #1140 #1156 #1158 #1159 #1160 #1168 #1170 #1171 #1185 #1186 #1191

They should not be closed. Each PR listed has been carefully reviewed and improved through thorough testing against all relevant drivers and controllers, with significant time and personal resources invested (approximately 80 working hours and $240 for the controllers) to ensure accuracy. I have continuously refined these PRs based on feedback and new information, and where documentation was lacking, I have contributed updates to help future contributors avoid similar issues.

Summary of specific PRs (for full details, please see the Conversation tab on each PR):

• [Ready for RetroArch 1.20.0] udev: Update Sony Interactive Entertainment DualSense Wireless Controller.cfg #1140 : Corrected input_menu_toggle_btn
• [READY] sdl2: Update Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.cfg #1156: Several input changes. Fixes SDL2: A and B buttons swapped on Switch Pro Controller #1204
• [READY] android: Update and rename Pro Controller.cfg to Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.cfg #1158: Rename Pro Controller.cfg to Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.cfg
  • "HI, a merge conflict needs to be resolved here" - libretroadmin
• [READY] linuxraw: Create Nintendo Switch Pro Controller (non-HID) (default-off).cfg #1159: Brand new autoconfig
• [READY] sdl2: Update and rename Nintendo Switch Pro Controller (old).cfg to Nintendo Switch Pro Controller (non-HID) (default-off).cfg #1160: Updated input_device_display_name for consistency; minor change but improves uniformity.
• [Ready for RetroArch 1.20.0] udev: Update and rename Sony-PlayStation4-DualShock4v2-Controller.cfg to Sony DualShock 4 Controller.cfg -- Merge DualShock 4 v1 and v2 #1168: Added alternative names: Autoconfig extension with alternative name/vid/pid RetroArch#16990
• [Ready for RetroArch 1.20.0] sdl2: Create PS4 Controller.cfg #1170: Added alternative names: Autoconfig extension with alternative name/vid/pid RetroArch#16990
• [Ready for RetroArch 1.20.0] android: Update and rename Sony_DualShock_4_Controller_v2.cfg to Wireless Controller.cfg #1171: Added alternative names: Autoconfig extension with alternative name/vid/pid RetroArch#16990
  • "Hi, a merge conflict needs to be resolved here" - libretroadmin
• [READY] udev: Update and rename Nintendo Co., Ltd. Pro Controller (old).cfg to Pro Controller (non-HID) (default-off).cfg #1185: Sorted the variables for improved readability.
• [Ready for RetroArch 1.20.0] udev: Update and rename Nintendo Co., Ltd. Pro Controller.cfg to Nintendo Switch Pro Controller #1186: Added alternative names: Autoconfig extension with alternative name/vid/pid RetroArch#16990
• [Ready for RetroArch 1.20.0] udev: Update and rename Microsoft_X-Box_pad_v2_US.cfg to Microsoft X-Box pad (US).cfg -- Merge v1 and v2 #1191: Added alternative names: Autoconfig extension with alternative name/vid/pid RetroArch#16990. https://github.com/libretro/retroarch-joypad-autoconfig/pull/1191/files is pending review.

Half of the PRs adds support for multiple input_device, input_device_display_name, input_vendor_id, and input_product_id variables.

Only 2 of the 11 PRs, #1160 and #1185, could be considered "content-free," as they simply remove comments (as we agreed on earlier) and sort the variables to improve consistency and make it easier to compare with other autoconfigs.

I understand if you’re frustrated that the PRs are still open. This may be related to concerns about RetroArch’s backward compatibility—Rob may not have approved them yet to ensure that older versions of RetroArch continue to function properly across all platforms.

Best

[davidhedlund]

"Added alternative names" means that autoconfigs for multiple revisions of a controller (e.g., PS DualShock 4 v1 and PS DualShock 4 v2) have been merged into a single autoconfig. For the original feature request, see:

• [IMPORTANT feature request]: Support multiple input_device, input_device_display_name, input_vendor_id, and input_product_id variables RetroArch#16907

It is safe to approve my PRs, as several pull requests with alternative names that I submitted earlier have already been merged:

• https://github.com/libretro/retroarch-joypad-autoconfig/pull/1166/files
• https://github.com/libretro/retroarch-joypad-autoconfig/pull/1172/files
• https://github.com/libretro/retroarch-joypad-autoconfig/pull/1174/files
• https://github.com/libretro/retroarch-joypad-autoconfig/pull/1197/files