"git checkout -" is a short-hand for "git checkout @{-1}" and the
"@{nth}" notation for a negative number is to find nth previous
checkout in the reflog of the HEAD to determine the name of the
branch the user was on. We would want to find the nth most recent
reflog entry that matches "checkout: moving from X to Y" for this.
Unfortunately, reflog is implemented as an append-only file, and the
API to iterate over its entries, for_each_reflog_ent(), reads the
file in order, giving the entries from the oldest to newer. For the
purpose of finding nth most recent one, this API forces us to record
the last n entries in a rotating buffer and give the result out only
after we read everything. To optimize for a common case of finding
the nth most recent one for a small value of n, we also have a side
API for_each_recent_reflog_ent() that starts reading near the end of
the file, but it still has to read the entries in the "wrong" order.
The implementation of understanding @{-1} uses this interface.
This all becomes unnecessary if we add an API to let us iterate over
reflog entries in the reverse order, from the newest to older.
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
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GIT - the stupid content tracker
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
"git" can mean anything, 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
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.
It was originally written by Linus Torvalds with help of a group of
hackers around the net. It is currently maintained by Junio C Hamano.
Please read the file INSTALL for installation instructions.
See Documentation/gittutorial.txt to get started, then see
Documentation/everyday.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).
Many Git online resources are accessible from http://git-scm.com/
including full documentation and Git related tools.
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 http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=git and other archival
sites.
The messages titled "A note from the maintainer", "What's in
git.git (stable)" and "What's cooking in git.git (topics)" and
the discussion following them on the mailing list give a good
reference for project status, development direction and
remaining tasks.
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