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Elijah Newren 7af7a25853 unpack-trees: add a new update_sparsity() function
Previously, the only way to update the SKIP_WORKTREE bits for various
paths was invoking `git read-tree -mu HEAD` or calling the same code
that this codepath invoked.  This however had a number of problems if
the index or working directory were not clean.  First, let's consider
the case:

  Flipping SKIP_WORKTREE -> !SKIP_WORKTREE (materializing files)

If the working tree was clean this was fine, but if there were files or
directories or symlinks or whatever already present at the given path
then the operation would abort with an error.  Let's label this case
for later discussion:

    A) There is an untracked path in the way

Now let's consider the opposite case:

  Flipping !SKIP_WORKTREE -> SKIP_WORKTREE (removing files)

If the index and working tree was clean this was fine, but if there were
any unclean paths we would run into problems.  There are three different
cases to consider:

    B) The path is unmerged
    C) The path has unstaged changes
    D) The path has staged changes (differs from HEAD)

If any path fell into case B or C, then the whole operation would be
aborted with an error.  With sparse-checkout, the whole operation would
be aborted for case D as well, but for its predecessor of using `git
read-tree -mu HEAD` directly, any paths that fell into case D would be
removed from the working copy and the index entry for that path would be
reset to match HEAD -- which looks and feels like data loss to users
(only a few are even aware to ask whether it can be recovered, and even
then it requires walking through loose objects trying to match up the
right ones).

Refusing to remove files that have unsaved user changes is good, but
refusing to work on any other paths is very problematic for users.  If
the user is in the middle of a rebase or has made modifications to files
that bring in more dependencies, then for their build to work they need
to update the sparse paths.  This logic has been preventing them from
doing so.  Sometimes in response, the user will stage the files and
re-try, to no avail with sparse-checkout or to the horror of losing
their changes if they are using its predecessor of `git read-tree -mu
HEAD`.

Add a new update_sparsity() function which will not error out in any of
these cases but behaves as follows for the special cases:
    A) Leave the file in the working copy alone, clear the SKIP_WORKTREE
       bit, and print a warning (thus leaving the path in a state where
       status will report the file as modified, which seems logical).
    B) Do NOT mark this path as SKIP_WORKTREE, and leave it as unmerged.
    C) Do NOT mark this path as SKIP_WORKTREE and print a warning about
       the dirty path.
    D) Mark the path as SKIP_WORKTREE, but do not revert the version
       stored in the index to match HEAD; leave the contents alone.

I tried a different behavior for A (leave the SKIP_WORKTREE bit set),
but found it very surprising and counter-intuitive (e.g. the user sees
it is present along with all the other files in that directory, tries to
stage it, but git add ignores it since the SKIP_WORKTREE bit is set).  A
& C seem like optimal behavior to me.  B may be as well, though I wonder
if printing a warning would be an improvement.  Some might be slightly
surprised by D at first, but given that it does the right thing with
`git commit` and even `git commit -a` (`git add` ignores entries that
are marked SKIP_WORKTREE and thus doesn't delete them, and `commit -a`
is similar), it seems logical to me.

Reviewed-by: Derrick Stolee <dstolee@microsoft.com>
Signed-off-by: Elijah Newren <newren@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
2020-03-27 11:33:30 -07:00
.github
Documentation RelNotes/2.26.0: fix various typos 2020-03-18 15:42:37 -07:00
block-sha1
builtin unpack-trees: simplify pattern_list freeing 2020-03-27 11:33:29 -07:00
ci Merge branch 'js/ci-windows-update' 2020-03-05 10:43:04 -08:00
compat Merge branch 'js/mingw-open-in-gdb' into maint 2020-03-17 15:02:25 -07:00
contrib Merge branch 'kk/complete-diff-color-moved' 2020-03-09 11:21:20 -07:00
ewah Merge branch 'jk/object-filter-with-bitmap' 2020-03-02 15:07:18 -08:00
git-gui Merge https://github.com/prati0100/git-gui 2020-03-19 16:06:51 -07:00
gitk-git
gitweb Merge branch 'do/gitweb-typofix-in-comments' 2020-01-08 12:44:11 -08:00
mergetools
negotiator
perl
po l10n: tr.po: change file mode to 644 2020-03-21 18:26:56 +08:00
ppc
refs C: use skip_prefix() to avoid hardcoded string length 2020-01-31 13:03:45 -08:00
sha1collisiondetection@855827c583
sha1dc Merge branch 'jk/lore-is-the-archive' 2019-12-06 15:09:23 -08:00
sha256
t t1091: make some tests a little more defensive against failures 2020-03-27 11:33:29 -07:00
templates Merge branch 'kw/fsmonitor-watchman-racefix' 2020-02-14 12:54:20 -08:00
trace2
vcs-svn
xdiff Merge branch 'rs/xdiff-ignore-ws-w-func-context' 2019-12-16 13:08:32 -08:00
.cirrus.yml CI: add FreeBSD CI support via Cirrus-CI 2019-12-20 12:09:12 -08:00
.clang-format
.editorconfig editorconfig: indent text files with tabs 2020-01-06 08:46:32 -08:00
.gitattributes
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.gitmodules
.mailmap Merge branch 'bc/wildcard-credential' 2020-03-05 10:43:02 -08:00
.travis.yml
.tsan-suppressions replace-object: make replace operations thread-safe 2020-01-17 13:52:14 -08:00
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
COPYING
GIT-VERSION-GEN Git 2.26 2020-03-22 16:50:46 -07:00
INSTALL Merge branch 'ar/install-doc-update-cmds-needing-the-shell' 2019-12-01 09:04:41 -08:00
LGPL-2.1
Makefile Merge branch 'bw/remote-rename-update-config' 2020-02-25 11:18:32 -08:00
README.md
RelNotes Git 2.25.2 2020-03-17 15:06:37 -07:00
abspath.c
aclocal.m4
add-interactive.c Merge branch 'js/builtin-add-i-cmds' into maint 2020-03-17 15:02:20 -07:00
add-interactive.h built-in add -p: respect the `interactive.singlekey` config setting 2020-01-15 12:06:17 -08:00
add-patch.c built-in add -p: respect the `interactive.singlekey` config setting 2020-01-15 12:06:17 -08:00
advice.c add: change advice config variables used by the add API 2020-02-06 11:08:00 -08:00
advice.h add: change advice config variables used by the add API 2020-02-06 11:08:00 -08:00
alias.c
alias.h
alloc.c
alloc.h
apply.c sha1-file: pass git_hash_algo to hash_object_file() 2020-01-31 10:45:39 -08:00
apply.h
archive-tar.c streaming: allow open_istream() to handle any repo 2020-01-31 10:45:39 -08:00
archive-zip.c streaming: allow open_istream() to handle any repo 2020-01-31 10:45:39 -08:00
archive.c
archive.h
argv-array.c
argv-array.h
attr.c
attr.h
azure-pipelines.yml Azure Pipeline: switch to the latest agent pools 2020-02-27 09:58:43 -08:00
banned.h
base85.c
bisect.c bisect: libify `bisect_next_all` 2020-02-19 09:37:15 -08:00
bisect.h bisect: libify `bisect_next_all` 2020-02-19 09:37:15 -08:00
blame.c
blame.h blame: provide type of fingerprints pointer 2020-02-24 12:08:48 -08:00
blob.c
blob.h
branch.c
branch.h
builtin.h
bulk-checkin.c
bulk-checkin.h
bundle.c
bundle.h
cache-tree.c sha1-file: pass git_hash_algo to hash_object_file() 2020-01-31 10:45:39 -08:00
cache-tree.h
cache.h Merge branch 'mt/use-passed-repo-more-in-funcs' 2020-02-14 12:54:22 -08:00
chdir-notify.c
chdir-notify.h
check-builtins.sh
check_bindir
checkout.c
checkout.h
color.c color.c: alias RGB colors 8-15 to aixterm colors 2020-02-11 11:19:00 -08:00
color.h
column.c
column.h
combine-diff.c
command-list.txt Merge branch 'ds/sparse-cone' 2019-12-25 11:21:58 -08:00
commit-graph.c Merge branch 'rs/commit-graph-code-simplification' 2020-03-05 10:43:04 -08:00
commit-graph.h commit-graph.h: use odb in 'load_commit_graph_one_fd_st' 2020-02-04 11:36:51 -08:00
commit-reach.c
commit-reach.h
commit-slab-decl.h
commit-slab-impl.h
commit-slab.h
commit.c Merge branch 'rs/strbuf-insertstr' 2020-02-17 13:22:17 -08:00
commit.h gpg-interface: add minTrustLevel as a configuration option 2020-01-15 14:06:06 -08:00
common-main.c
config.c Merge branch 'bw/remote-rename-update-config' 2020-02-25 11:18:32 -08:00
config.h config: provide access to the current line number 2020-02-10 10:52:10 -08:00
config.mak.dev config.mak.dev: re-enable -Wformat-zero-length 2020-02-28 08:39:45 -08:00
config.mak.in
config.mak.uname Sync with 2.23.1 2019-12-06 16:31:39 +01:00
configure.ac
connect.c Sync with 2.23.1 2019-12-06 16:31:39 +01:00
connect.h
connected.c connected: verify promisor-ness of partial clone 2020-01-30 10:55:31 -08:00
connected.h connected: verify promisor-ness of partial clone 2020-01-30 10:55:31 -08:00
convert.c Merge branch 'mt/use-passed-repo-more-in-funcs' 2020-02-14 12:54:22 -08:00
convert.h
copy.c
credential-cache--daemon.c
credential-cache.c
credential-store.c
credential.c credential: allow wildcard patterns when matching config 2020-02-20 13:05:43 -08:00
credential.h Merge branch 'bc/wildcard-credential' 2020-03-05 10:43:02 -08:00
csum-file.c
csum-file.h csum-file: introduce hashfile_total() 2020-01-23 10:51:50 -08:00
ctype.c
daemon.c
date.c
decorate.c
decorate.h
delta-islands.c
delta-islands.h
delta.h
detect-compiler
diff-delta.c
diff-lib.c
diff-no-index.c
diff.c Merge branch 'mt/use-passed-repo-more-in-funcs' 2020-02-14 12:54:22 -08:00
diff.h Merge branch 'hw/doc-in-header' 2019-12-16 13:08:39 -08:00
diffcore-break.c
diffcore-delta.c
diffcore-order.c
diffcore-pickaxe.c
diffcore-rename.c sha1-file: pass git_hash_algo to hash_object_file() 2020-01-31 10:45:39 -08:00
diffcore.h
dir-iterator.c
dir-iterator.h
dir.c Merge branch 'ds/sparse-add' 2020-03-05 10:43:02 -08:00
dir.h Merge branch 'ds/sparse-cone' 2019-12-25 11:21:58 -08:00
editor.c
entry.c
environment.c Merge branch 'ds/sparse-cone' 2019-12-25 11:21:58 -08:00
exec-cmd.c
exec-cmd.h
fast-import.c Sync with 2.23.1 2019-12-06 16:31:39 +01:00
fetch-negotiator.c
fetch-negotiator.h
fetch-pack.c Merge branch 'ec/fetch-mark-common-refs-trace2' 2019-12-05 12:52:44 -08:00
fetch-pack.h
fmt-merge-msg.h
fsck.c Sync with Git 2.24.1 2019-12-09 22:17:55 -08:00
fsck.h
fsmonitor.c fsmonitor: handle version 2 of the hooks that will use opaque token 2020-01-13 14:58:43 -08:00
fsmonitor.h
fuzz-commit-graph.c
fuzz-pack-headers.c
fuzz-pack-idx.c
generate-cmdlist.sh
gettext.c
gettext.h
git-add--interactive.perl git add -p: use non-zero exit code when the diff generation failed 2019-12-06 08:57:34 -08:00
git-archimport.perl
git-bisect.sh
git-compat-util.h Sync with Git 2.24.1 2019-12-09 22:17:55 -08:00
git-cvsexportcommit.perl
git-cvsimport.perl
git-cvsserver.perl
git-difftool--helper.sh
git-filter-branch.sh
git-instaweb.sh
git-legacy-stash.sh Merge branch 'js/patch-mode-in-others-in-c' 2020-02-05 14:34:58 -08:00
git-merge-octopus.sh
git-merge-one-file.sh
git-merge-resolve.sh
git-mergetool--lib.sh
git-mergetool.sh
git-p4.py git-p4: avoid leak of file handle when cloning 2020-01-30 12:21:13 -08:00
git-parse-remote.sh
git-quiltimport.sh
git-rebase--preserve-merges.sh
git-request-pull.sh
git-send-email.perl
git-sh-i18n.sh
git-sh-setup.sh
git-submodule.sh Merge branch 'es/recursive-single-branch-clone' 2020-03-05 10:43:03 -08:00
git-svn.perl
git-web--browse.sh
git.c
git.rc
gpg-interface.c Merge branch 'hi/gpg-use-check-signature' 2020-03-05 10:43:05 -08:00
gpg-interface.h Merge branch 'hi/gpg-use-check-signature' 2020-03-05 10:43:05 -08:00
graph.c graph: fix collapse of multiple edges 2020-01-15 12:14:51 -08:00
graph.h
grep.c grep: replace grep_read_mutex by internal obj read lock 2020-01-17 13:52:14 -08:00
grep.h grep: replace grep_read_mutex by internal obj read lock 2020-01-17 13:52:14 -08:00
hash.h
hashmap.c
hashmap.h
help.c
help.h
hex.c
http-backend.c
http-fetch.c
http-push.c
http-walker.c
http.c strbuf: add and use strbuf_insertstr() 2020-02-10 09:04:45 -08:00
http.h
ident.c
imap-send.c
interdiff.c
interdiff.h
iterator.h
json-writer.c
json-writer.h
khash.h
kwset.c
kwset.h
levenshtein.c
levenshtein.h
line-log.c
line-log.h
line-range.c
line-range.h
linear-assignment.c
linear-assignment.h
list-objects-filter-options.c
list-objects-filter-options.h
list-objects-filter.c
list-objects-filter.h
list-objects.c
list-objects.h
list.h
ll-merge.c
ll-merge.h
lockfile.c
lockfile.h
log-tree.c Merge branch 'hd/show-one-mergetag-fix' into maint 2020-03-17 15:02:24 -07:00
log-tree.h
ls-refs.c
ls-refs.h
mailinfo.c Merge branch 'rs/micro-cleanups' 2020-03-02 15:07:20 -08:00
mailinfo.h
mailmap.c
mailmap.h
match-trees.c
mem-pool.c
mem-pool.h
merge-blobs.c
merge-blobs.h
merge-recursive.c Merge branch 'en/t3433-rebase-stat-dirty-failure' into maint 2020-03-17 15:02:23 -07:00
merge-recursive.h
merge.c
mergesort.c
mergesort.h
midx.c nth_packed_object_oid(): use customary integer return 2020-02-24 12:55:42 -08:00
midx.h
name-hash.c
notes-cache.c
notes-cache.h
notes-merge.c
notes-merge.h
notes-utils.c strbuf: add and use strbuf_insertstr() 2020-02-10 09:04:45 -08:00
notes-utils.h
notes.c Merge branch 'jh/notes-fanout-fix' into maint 2020-03-17 15:02:22 -07:00
notes.h Merge branch 'dl/format-patch-notes-config-fixup' 2019-12-25 11:21:58 -08:00
object-store.h packed_object_info(): use object_id for returning delta base 2020-02-24 12:55:53 -08:00
object.c Merge branch 'jk/object-filter-with-bitmap' 2020-03-02 15:07:18 -08:00
object.h pack-bitmap: fix leak of haves/wants object lists 2020-02-13 09:08:58 -08:00
oidmap.c
oidmap.h
oidset.c
oidset.h
pack-bitmap-write.c
pack-bitmap.c Merge branch 'jk/nth-packed-object-id' 2020-03-05 10:43:03 -08:00
pack-bitmap.h Merge branch 'jk/object-filter-with-bitmap' 2020-03-02 15:07:18 -08:00
pack-check.c pack-check: push oid lookup into loop 2020-02-24 12:55:53 -08:00
pack-objects.c pack-objects: convert oe_set_delta_ext() to use object_id 2020-02-24 12:55:52 -08:00
pack-objects.h pack-objects: convert oe_set_delta_ext() to use object_id 2020-02-24 12:55:52 -08:00
pack-revindex.c
pack-revindex.h
pack-write.c
pack.h
packfile.c packfile: drop nth_packed_object_sha1() 2020-02-24 12:55:53 -08:00
packfile.h packfile: drop nth_packed_object_sha1() 2020-02-24 12:55:53 -08:00
pager.c
parse-options-cb.c parse-options: simplify parse_options_dup() 2020-02-10 09:45:49 -08:00
parse-options.c Merge branch 'pb/am-show-current-patch' 2020-03-09 11:21:19 -07:00
parse-options.h Merge branch 'pb/am-show-current-patch' 2020-03-09 11:21:19 -07:00
patch-delta.c
patch-ids.c
patch-ids.h
path.c normalize_path_copy(): document "dst" size expectations 2020-01-30 13:45:58 -08:00
path.h
pathspec.c prefix_path: show gitdir if worktree unavailable 2020-03-15 09:35:46 -07:00
pathspec.h Merge branch 'hw/doc-in-header' 2019-12-16 13:08:39 -08:00
pkt-line.c
pkt-line.h pkt-line: fix a typo 2019-12-02 08:48:56 -08:00
preload-index.c
pretty.c Merge branch 'rs/strbuf-insertstr' 2020-02-17 13:22:17 -08:00
pretty.h
prio-queue.c
prio-queue.h
progress.c
progress.h
promisor-remote.c
promisor-remote.h
prompt.c
prompt.h
protocol.c fetch: default to protocol version 2 2020-01-15 14:03:55 -08:00
protocol.h
quote.c quote: use isalnum() to check for alphanumeric characters 2020-02-24 09:30:29 -08:00
quote.h
range-diff.c range-diff: mark pointers as const 2019-12-06 12:34:49 -08:00
range-diff.h Merge branch 'dl/range-diff-with-notes' 2019-12-16 13:08:46 -08:00
reachable.c pack-bitmap: basic noop bitmap filter infrastructure 2020-02-14 10:46:22 -08:00
reachable.h
read-cache.c Merge branch 'js/mingw-loosen-overstrict-tree-entry-checks' 2020-01-10 14:45:27 -08:00
rebase-interactive.c Merge branch 'rt/format-zero-length-fix' 2020-03-09 11:21:21 -07:00
rebase-interactive.h Merge branch 'en/rebase-backend' 2020-03-02 15:07:19 -08:00
rebase.c pull --rebase/remote rename: document and honor single-letter abbreviations rebase types 2020-02-10 10:52:10 -08:00
rebase.h pull --rebase/remote rename: document and honor single-letter abbreviations rebase types 2020-02-10 10:52:10 -08:00
ref-filter.c Merge branch 'dr/push-remote-ref-update' 2020-03-11 10:58:16 -07:00
ref-filter.h
reflog-walk.c
reflog-walk.h
refs.c
refs.h
refspec.c
refspec.h
remote-curl.c Merge branch 'rs/show-progress-in-dumb-http-fetch' 2020-03-09 11:21:21 -07:00
remote-testsvn.c
remote.c remote: drop "explicit" parameter from remote_ref_for_branch() 2020-03-03 14:56:05 -08:00
remote.h remote: drop "explicit" parameter from remote_ref_for_branch() 2020-03-03 14:56:05 -08:00
replace-object.c replace-object: make replace operations thread-safe 2020-01-17 13:52:14 -08:00
replace-object.h replace-object: make replace operations thread-safe 2020-01-17 13:52:14 -08:00
repo-settings.c
repository.c
repository.h
rerere.c
rerere.h
resolve-undo.c
resolve-undo.h
revision.c Merge branch 'dl/format-patch-notes-config-fixup' 2019-12-25 11:21:58 -08:00
revision.h Merge branch 'dl/format-patch-notes-config-fixup' 2019-12-25 11:21:58 -08:00
run-command.c Merge branch 'bc/run-command-nullness-after-free-fix' into maint 2020-02-14 12:42:27 -08:00
run-command.h run-command.h: fix mis-indented struct member 2020-02-22 09:05:34 -08:00
send-pack.c Merge branch 'jk/send-pack-check-negative-with-quick' 2019-12-06 15:09:22 -08:00
send-pack.h
sequencer.c Merge branch 'js/rebase-i-with-colliding-hash' into maint 2020-03-17 15:02:21 -07:00
sequencer.h Merge branch 'en/rebase-backend' 2020-03-02 15:07:19 -08:00
serve.c
serve.h
server-info.c
setup.c Merge branch 'es/outside-repo-errmsg-hints' 2020-03-16 12:43:29 -07:00
sh-i18n--envsubst.c
sha1-array.c
sha1-array.h
sha1-file.c packed_object_info(): use object_id for returning delta base 2020-02-24 12:55:53 -08:00
sha1-lookup.c
sha1-lookup.h
sha1-name.c nth_packed_object_oid(): use customary integer return 2020-02-24 12:55:42 -08:00
sha1dc_git.c
sha1dc_git.h
shallow.c
shell.c
shortlog.h
sideband.c
sideband.h
sigchain.c
sigchain.h
split-index.c
split-index.h
stable-qsort.c
strbuf.c credential: allow wildcard patterns when matching config 2020-02-20 13:05:43 -08:00
strbuf.h Merge branch 'bc/wildcard-credential' 2020-03-05 10:43:02 -08:00
streaming.c streaming: allow open_istream() to handle any repo 2020-01-31 10:45:39 -08:00
streaming.h streaming: allow open_istream() to handle any repo 2020-01-31 10:45:39 -08:00
string-list.c
string-list.h Merge branch 'en/string-list-can-be-custom-sorted' into maint 2020-02-14 12:42:27 -08:00
sub-process.c
sub-process.h
submodule-config.c Merge branch 'mr/show-config-scope' 2020-02-17 13:22:17 -08:00
submodule-config.h submodule-config: add skip_if_read option to repo_read_gitmodules() 2020-01-17 13:52:14 -08:00
submodule.c Merge branch 'dt/submodule-rm-with-stale-cache' into maint 2020-03-17 15:02:21 -07:00
submodule.h Sync with 2.22.2 2019-12-06 16:31:30 +01:00
symlinks.c
tag.c
tag.h
tar.h
tempfile.c
tempfile.h
thread-utils.c
thread-utils.h
tmp-objdir.c
tmp-objdir.h
trace.c
trace.h
trace2.c
trace2.h
trailer.c
trailer.h
transport-helper.c C: use skip_prefix() to avoid hardcoded string length 2020-01-31 13:03:45 -08:00
transport-internal.h
transport.c Merge branch 'jk/no-flush-upon-disconnecting-slrpc-transport' into maint 2020-02-14 12:42:28 -08:00
transport.h
tree-diff.c
tree-walk.c tree-walk.c: break circular dependency with unpack-trees 2020-02-04 10:32:15 -08:00
tree-walk.h tree-walk.c: break circular dependency with unpack-trees 2020-02-04 10:32:15 -08:00
tree.c
tree.h
unicode-width.h unicode: update the width tables to Unicode 13.0 2020-03-17 15:06:37 -07:00
unimplemented.sh
unix-socket.c
unix-socket.h
unpack-trees.c unpack-trees: add a new update_sparsity() function 2020-03-27 11:33:30 -07:00
unpack-trees.h unpack-trees: add a new update_sparsity() function 2020-03-27 11:33:30 -07:00
upload-pack.c config: split repo scope to local and worktree 2020-02-10 10:32:20 -08:00
upload-pack.h
url.c
url.h
urlmatch.c credential: allow wildcard patterns when matching config 2020-02-20 13:05:43 -08:00
urlmatch.h credential: allow wildcard patterns when matching config 2020-02-20 13:05:43 -08:00
usage.c
userdiff.c Merge branch 'ln/userdiff-elixir' 2019-12-25 11:21:59 -08:00
userdiff.h
utf8.c
utf8.h
varint.c
varint.h
version.c
version.h
versioncmp.c
walker.c Merge branch 'rs/show-progress-in-dumb-http-fetch' 2020-03-09 11:21:21 -07:00
walker.h remote-curl: show progress for fetches over dumb HTTP 2020-03-03 13:15:40 -08:00
wildmatch.c
wildmatch.h
worktree.c Merge branch 'hv/receive-denycurrent-everywhere' 2020-03-05 10:43:03 -08:00
worktree.h worktree: add utility to find worktree by pathname 2020-02-24 13:04:30 -08:00
wrap-for-bin.sh
wrapper.c
write-or-die.c
ws.c
wt-status.c
wt-status.h
xdiff-interface.c xdiff: avoid computing non-zero offset from NULL pointer 2020-01-28 23:13:25 -08:00
xdiff-interface.h
zlib.c

README.md

Build Status

Git - fast, scalable, distributed revision control system

Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations and full access to internals.

Git is an Open Source project covered by the GNU General Public License version 2 (some parts of it are under different licenses, compatible with the GPLv2). It was originally written by Linus Torvalds with help of a group of hackers around the net.

Please read the file INSTALL for installation instructions.

Many Git online resources are accessible from https://git-scm.com/ including full documentation and Git related tools.

See Documentation/gittutorial.txt to get started, then see Documentation/giteveryday.txt for a useful minimum set of commands, and Documentation/git-<commandname>.txt for documentation of each command. If git has been correctly installed, then the tutorial can also be read with man gittutorial or git help tutorial, and the documentation of each command with man git-<commandname> or git help <commandname>.

CVS users may also want to read Documentation/gitcvs-migration.txt (man gitcvs-migration or git help cvs-migration if git is installed).

The user discussion and development of Git take place on the Git mailing list -- everyone is welcome to post bug reports, feature requests, comments and patches to git@vger.kernel.org (read Documentation/SubmittingPatches for instructions on patch submission). To subscribe to the list, send an email with just "subscribe git" in the body to majordomo@vger.kernel.org. The mailing list archives are available at https://lore.kernel.org/git/, http://marc.info/?l=git and other archival sites.

Issues which are security relevant should be disclosed privately to the Git Security mailing list git-security@googlegroups.com.

The maintainer frequently sends the "What's cooking" reports that list the current status of various development topics to the mailing list. The discussion following them give a good reference for project status, development direction and remaining tasks.

The name "git" was given by Linus Torvalds when he wrote the very first version. He described the tool as "the stupid content tracker" and the name as (depending on your mood):

  • random three-letter combination that is pronounceable, and not actually used by any common UNIX command. The fact that it is a mispronunciation of "get" may or may not be relevant.
  • stupid. contemptible and despicable. simple. Take your pick from the dictionary of slang.
  • "global information tracker": you're in a good mood, and it actually works for you. Angels sing, and a light suddenly fills the room.
  • "goddamn idiotic truckload of sh*t": when it breaks