One of the most common uses of git_path() is to pass a
constant, like git_path("MERGE_MSG"). This has two
drawbacks:
1. The return value is a static buffer, and the lifetime
is dependent on other calls to git_path, etc.
2. There's no compile-time checking of the pathname. This
is OK for a one-off (after all, we have to spell it
correctly at least once), but many of these constant
strings appear throughout the code.
This patch introduces a series of functions to "memoize"
these strings, which are essentially globals for the
lifetime of the program. We compute the value once, take
ownership of the buffer, and return the cached value for
subsequent calls. cache.h provides a helper macro for
defining these functions as one-liners, and defines a few
common ones for global use.
Using a macro is a little bit gross, but it does nicely
document the purpose of the functions. If we need to touch
them all later (e.g., because we learned how to change the
git_dir variable at runtime, and need to invalidate all of
the stored values), it will be much easier to have the
complete list.
Note that the shared-global functions have separate, manual
declarations. We could do something clever with the macros
(e.g., expand it to a declaration in some places, and a
declaration _and_ a definition in path.c). But there aren't
that many, and it's probably better to stay away from
too-magical macros.
Likewise, if we abandon the C preprocessor in favor of
generating these with a script, we could get much fancier.
E.g., normalizing "FOO/BAR-BAZ" into "git_path_foo_bar_baz".
But the small amount of saved typing is probably not worth
the resulting confusion to readers who want to grep for the
function's definition.
Signed-off-by: Jeff King <peff@peff.net>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
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 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.
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).
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://news.gmane.org/gmane.comp.version-control.git/,
http://marc.info/?l=git and other archival sites.
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.
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