[PATCH] Documentation: Define symref and update HEAD description
HEAD was still described as a symlink instead of a symref.
Signed-off-by: Petr Baudis <pasky@suse.cz>
---
Documentation/glossary.txt | 7 +++++++
Documentation/repository-layout.txt | 14 +++++++++-----
2 files changed, 16 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/glossary.txt b/Documentation/glossary.txt
index 7e560b0..894883d 100644
--- a/Documentation/glossary.txt
+++ b/Documentation/glossary.txt
@@ -282,6 +282,13 @@ SCM::
SHA1::
Synonym for object name.
+symref::
+ Symbolic reference: instead of containing the SHA1 id itself, it
+ is of the format 'ref: refs/some/thing' and when referenced, it
+ recursively dereferences to this reference. 'HEAD' is a prime
+ example of a symref. Symbolic references are manipulated with
+ the gitlink:git-symbolic-ref[1] command.
+
topic branch::
A regular git branch that is used by a developer to
identify a conceptual line of development. Since branches
diff --git a/Documentation/repository-layout.txt b/Documentation/repository-layout.txt
index 275d18b..fd9f406 100644
--- a/Documentation/repository-layout.txt
+++ b/Documentation/repository-layout.txt
@@ -70,12 +70,16 @@ refs/tags/`name`::
object, or a tag object that points at a commit object).
HEAD::
- A symlink of the form `refs/heads/'name'` to point at
- the current branch, if exists. It does not mean much if
- the repository is not associated with any working tree
+ A symref (see glossary) to the `refs/heads/` namespace
+ describing the currently active branch. It does not mean
+ much if the repository is not associated with any working tree
(i.e. a 'bare' repository), but a valid git repository
- *must* have such a symlink here. It is legal if the
- named branch 'name' does not (yet) exist.
+ *must* have the HEAD file; some porcelains may use it to
+ guess the designated "default" branch of the repository
+ (usually 'master'). It is legal if the named branch
+ 'name' does not (yet) exist. In some legacy setups, it is
+ a symbolic link instead of a symref, but this has been
+ deprecated long ago.
branches::
Petr Baudis <pasky@suse.cz>