[PATCH v3] gitignore.txt: suggestions how to get literal # or ! at the beginning

From: Nguyễn Thái Ngọc Duy <pclouds@gmail.com>
Date: Oct 7, 2012, 03:13 UTC
Message-ID: <1349579634-13521-1-git-send-email-pclouds@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <7vr4pbqwz7.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org>

We support backslash escape, but we hide the details behind the phrase "a shell glob suitable for consumption by fnmatch(3)". So it may not be obvious how one can get literal # or ! at the beginning of pattern. Add a few lines on how to work around the magic characters.

Signed-off-by: Nguyễn Thái Ngọc Duy <pclouds@gmail.com>
---
 Back to spelling out, which works with 8.2.6. No examples for \#
 because '\' in '\#example#.txt' is eaten.

 Documentation/gitignore.txt | 6 +++++-
 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/gitignore.txt b/Documentation/gitignore.txt
index 96639e0..90106c4 100644
--- a/Documentation/gitignore.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gitignore.txt
@@ -74,11 +74,15 @@ PATTERN FORMAT
    for readability.
 
  - A line starting with # serves as a comment.
+   Put a backslash ("`\`") in front of the first hash for patterns
+   that begin with a hash.
 
- - An optional prefix '!' which negates the pattern; any
+ - An optional prefix "`!`" which negates the pattern; any
    matching file excluded by a previous pattern will become
    included again.  If a negated pattern matches, this will
    override lower precedence patterns sources.
+   Put a backslash ("`\`") in front of the first "`!`" for patterns
+   that begin with a literal "`!`", for example, "`\!important!.txt`".
 
  - If the pattern ends with a slash, it is removed for the
    purpose of the following description, but it would only find

-- 
1.7.12.1.406.g6ab07c4