From: Jeff King Date: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 19:53:39 GMT Subject: Re: [PATCH 01/22] t3204: test deleting references when lock files already exist Message-ID: <20140401195338.GA21715@sigill.intra.peff.net> In-Reply-To: <1396367910-7299-2-git-send-email-mhagger@alum.mit.edu> On Tue, Apr 01, 2014 at 05:58:09PM +0200, Michael Haggerty wrote: > When deleting a reference, it might be that another process already > holds the lock on the loose reference file and/or the packed-refs > file. In those cases, there is no alternative but for the delete to > fail. Verify that in such cases the reference values are left > unchanged. > > But in fact, when the packed-refs file lock cannot be acquired, the > loose reference file is deleted anyway, potentially leaving the > reference with a changed value (its packed value, which might even > point at an object that has been garbage collected). Thus one of the > new tests is marked test_expect_failure. Nice find. If I understand correctly, the problem is at the plumbing level, and this could also be demonstrated with update-ref? I don't think it is a big deal, but I was thrown for a minute by the use of "git branch" (as in, "is this something special with branches, or is this about all refs?"). -Peff