feature request for option to have ` reuse annotate --merge-copyrights` only list the current year (instead of range of years)

[kbroch-rivosinc]

Currently reuse annotate --merge-copyrights -c "Lorem Inc." produces the following where a year range is used for the copyright when the file spans multiple years:

-# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2022 Lorem Inc.
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2022 - 2023 Lorem Inc.

instead I'd like the option to see:

-# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2022 Lorem Inc.
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2023 Lorem Inc.

My original thought was that --year=2023 option might allow me to force this but it appears to be ignored when used in conjunction with --merge-copyrights, but honestly I'd rather not have to update the year manually if a new option was available.

[mxmehl]

Thanks for the request.

Combining --year and --merge-copyrights has a different effect: you can merge the existing line with the new annotation, and override the additional year with the one you set. This year can either be newer or older.

So perhaps it would need a separate flag, either as an extension to --merge-copyrights or standalone. It could be --update-year=YYYY which also "merges" copyrights in the sense that it does not create a new line but it just sets the year to the desired one.