In a repository cloned from somewhere else, you typically have a
symbolic ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD pointing at the 'master'
remote-tracking ref that is next to it. When fetching into such a
repository with "git fetch --mirror" from another repository that
was similarly cloned, the implied wildcard refspec refs/*:refs/*
will end up asking to update refs/remotes/origin/HEAD with the
object at refs/remotes/origin/HEAD at the remote side, while asking
to update refs/remotes/origin/master the same way. Depending on the
order the two updates happen, the latter one would find that the
value of the ref before it is updated has changed from what the code
expects.
When the user asks to update the underlying ref via the symbolic ref
explicitly without using a wildcard refspec, e.g. "git fetch $there
refs/heads/master:refs/remotes/origin/HEAD", we should still let him
do so, but when expanding wildcard refs, it will result in a more
intuitive outcome if we simply ignore local symbolic refs.
As the purpose of the symbolic ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD is to
follow the ref it points at (e.g. refs/remotes/origin/master), its
value would change when the underlying ref is updated.
Earlier commit da3efdb (receive-pack: detect aliased updates which
can occur with symrefs, 2010-04-19) fixed a similar issue for "git
push".
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
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GIT - the stupid content tracker
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"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.