code: def count(self, paths='', **kwargs):
          
          # yes, it makes a difference whether empty paths are given or not in our case
          # as the empty paths version will ignore merge commits for some reason.
          if paths:
              return len(self.repo.git.rev_list(self.hexsha, '--', paths, **kwargs).splitlines())
          else:
              return len(self.repo.git.rev_list(self.hexsha, **kwargs).splitlines())
docs: Count the number of commits reachable from this commit
  
          :param paths:
              is an optional path or a list of paths restricting the return value
              to commits actually containing the paths
  
          :param kwargs:
              Additional options to be passed to git-rev-list. They must not alter
              the output style of the command, or parsing will yield incorrect results
          :return: int defining the number of reachable commits