[PATCH] pathspec: give better message for submodule related pathspec error

From: Stefan Beller <sbeller@google.com>
Date: Dec 28, 2016, 00:05 UTC
Message-ID: <20161228000559.17842-1-sbeller@google.com>

Every once in a while someone complains to the mailing list to have run into this weird assertion[1].

The usual response from the mailing list is link to old discussions[2], and acknowledging the problem stating it is known.

For now just improve the user visible error message.

[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=item-%3Enowildcard_len
[2] http://git.661346.n2.nabble.com/assert-failed-in-submodule-edge-case-td7628687.html
    https://www.spinics.net/lists/git/msg249473.html

Signed-off-by: Stefan Beller <sbeller@google.com>
---

If you were following the mailing list closely today, you may sense that I am cleaning up stalled branches. :)

I think such a hot fix is warranted given how often we had reports on the mailing list.

Thanks, Stefan

 pathspec.c | 7 +++++--
 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/pathspec.c b/pathspec.c
index 22ca74a126..d522f43331 100644
--- a/pathspec.c
+++ b/pathspec.c
@@ -313,8 +313,11 @@ static unsigned prefix_pathspec(struct pathspec_item *item,
 	}
 
 	/* sanity checks, pathspec matchers assume these are sane */
-	assert(item->nowildcard_len <= item->len &&
-	       item->prefix         <= item->len);
+	if (item->nowildcard_len <= item->len &&
+	    item->prefix         <= item->len)
+		die (_("Path leads inside submodule '%s', but the submodule "
+		       "was not recognized, i.e. not initialized or deleted"),
+		       ce->name);
 	return magic;
 }

-- 
2.11.0.196.gee862f456e.dirty