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[PATCH v3 03/11] builtin/cat-file: wire up an option to filter objects

From
Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
Date
Apr 2, 2025, 11:13 UTC
Message-ID
<20250402-pks-cat-file-object-type-filter-v3-3-4da6bb21871c@pks.im>
In-Reply-To
<20250402-pks-cat-file-object-type-filter-v3-0-4da6bb21871c@pks.im>

In batch mode, git-cat-file(1) enumerates all objects and prints them by iterating through both loose and packed objects. This works without considering their reachability at all, and consequently most options to filter objects as they exist in e.g. git-rev-list(1) are not applicable. In some situations it may still be useful though to filter objects based on properties that are inherent to them. This includes the object size as well as its type.

Such a filter already exists in git-rev-list(1) with the `--filter=` command line option. While this option supports a couple of filters that are not applicable to our usecase, some of them are quite a neat fit.

Wire up the filter as an option for git-cat-file(1). This allows us to reuse the same syntax as in git-rev-list(1) so that we don't have to reinvent the wheel. For now, we die when any of the filter options has been passed by the user, but they will be wired up in subsequent commits.

Further note that the filters that we are about to introduce don't significantly speed up the runtime of git-cat-file(1). While we can skip emitting a lot of objects in case they are uninteresting to us, the majority of time is spent reading the packfile, which is bottlenecked by I/O and not the processor. This will change though once we start to make use of bitmaps, which will allow us to skip reading the whole packfile.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 Documentation/git-cat-file.adoc | 16 ++++++++++++++++
 builtin/cat-file.c              | 36 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----
 t/t1006-cat-file.sh             | 40 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 88 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/git-cat-file.adoc b/Documentation/git-cat-file.adoc
index d5890ae3686..da92eed1170 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-cat-file.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/git-cat-file.adoc
@@ -81,6 +81,15 @@ OPTIONS
 	end-of-line conversion, etc). In this case, `<object>` has to be of
 	the form `<tree-ish>:<path>`, or `:<path>`.
 
+--filter=<filter-spec>::
+--no-filter::
+	Omit objects from the list of printed objects. This can only be used in
+	combination with one of the batched modes. Excluded objects that have
+	been explicitly requested via any of the batch modes that read objects
+	via standard input (`--batch`, `--batch-check`) will be reported as
+	"filtered". Excluded objects in `--batch-all-objects` mode will not be
+	printed at all. No filters are supported yet.
+
 --path=<path>::
 	For use with `--textconv` or `--filters`, to allow specifying an object
 	name and a path separately, e.g. when it is difficult to figure out
@@ -340,6 +349,13 @@ the repository, then `cat-file` will ignore any custom format and print:
 <object> SP missing LF
 ------------
 
+If a name is specified on stdin that is filtered out via `--filter=`,
+then `cat-file` will ignore any custom format and print:
+
+------------
+<object> SP excluded LF
+------------
+
 If a name is specified that might refer to more than one object (an ambiguous short sha), then `cat-file` will ignore any custom format and print:
 
 ------------
diff --git a/builtin/cat-file.c b/builtin/cat-file.c
index 1261a3ce352..0e2176c4491 100644
--- a/builtin/cat-file.c
+++ b/builtin/cat-file.c
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 #include "gettext.h"
 #include "hex.h"
 #include "ident.h"
+#include "list-objects-filter-options.h"
 #include "parse-options.h"
 #include "userdiff.h"
 #include "streaming.h"
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@ enum batch_mode {
 };
 
 struct batch_options {
+	struct list_objects_filter_options objects_filter;
 	int enabled;
 	int follow_symlinks;
 	enum batch_mode batch_mode;
@@ -495,6 +497,13 @@ static void batch_object_write(const char *obj_name,
 			return;
 		}
 
+		switch (opt->objects_filter.choice) {
+		case LOFC_DISABLED:
+			break;
+		default:
+			BUG("unsupported objects filter");
+		}
+
 		if (use_mailmap && (data->type == OBJ_COMMIT || data->type == OBJ_TAG)) {
 			size_t s = data->size;
 			char *buf = NULL;
@@ -820,7 +829,8 @@ static int batch_objects(struct batch_options *opt)
 		struct object_cb_data cb;
 		struct object_info empty = OBJECT_INFO_INIT;
 
-		if (!memcmp(&data.info, &empty, sizeof(empty)))
+		if (!memcmp(&data.info, &empty, sizeof(empty)) &&
+		    opt->objects_filter.choice == LOFC_DISABLED)
 			data.skip_object_info = 1;
 
 		if (repo_has_promisor_remote(the_repository))
@@ -944,10 +954,13 @@ int cmd_cat_file(int argc,
 	int opt_cw = 0;
 	int opt_epts = 0;
 	const char *exp_type = NULL, *obj_name = NULL;
-	struct batch_options batch = {0};
+	struct batch_options batch = {
+		.objects_filter = LIST_OBJECTS_FILTER_INIT,
+	};
 	int unknown_type = 0;
 	int input_nul_terminated = 0;
 	int nul_terminated = 0;
+	int ret;
 
 	const char * const builtin_catfile_usage[] = {
 		N_("git cat-file <type> <object>"),
@@ -1008,6 +1021,7 @@ int cmd_cat_file(int argc,
 			    N_("run filters on object's content"), 'w'),
 		OPT_STRING(0, "path", &force_path, N_("blob|tree"),
 			   N_("use a <path> for (--textconv | --filters); Not with 'batch'")),
+		OPT_PARSE_LIST_OBJECTS_FILTER(&batch.objects_filter),
 		OPT_END()
 	};
 
@@ -1022,6 +1036,14 @@ int cmd_cat_file(int argc,
 	if (use_mailmap)
 		read_mailmap(&mailmap);
 
+	switch (batch.objects_filter.choice) {
+	case LOFC_DISABLED:
+		break;
+	default:
+		usagef(_("objects filter not supported: '%s'"),
+		       list_object_filter_config_name(batch.objects_filter.choice));
+	}
+
 	/* --batch-all-objects? */
 	if (opt == 'b')
 		batch.all_objects = 1;
@@ -1076,7 +1098,8 @@ int cmd_cat_file(int argc,
 			usage_msg_opt(_("batch modes take no arguments"),
 				      builtin_catfile_usage, options);
 
-		return batch_objects(&batch);
+		ret = batch_objects(&batch);
+		goto out;
 	}
 
 	if (opt) {
@@ -1108,5 +1131,10 @@ int cmd_cat_file(int argc,
 
 	if (unknown_type && opt != 't' && opt != 's')
 		die("git cat-file --allow-unknown-type: use with -s or -t");
-	return cat_one_file(opt, exp_type, obj_name, unknown_type);
+
+	ret = cat_one_file(opt, exp_type, obj_name, unknown_type);
+
+out:
+	list_objects_filter_release(&batch.objects_filter);
+	return ret;
 }
diff --git a/t/t1006-cat-file.sh b/t/t1006-cat-file.sh
index 398865d6ebe..9ce4eda6e68 100755
--- a/t/t1006-cat-file.sh
+++ b/t/t1006-cat-file.sh
@@ -1353,4 +1353,44 @@ test_expect_success PERL '--batch-command info is unbuffered by default' '
 	perl -e "$script" -- --batch-command $hello_oid "$expect" "info "
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'setup for objects filter' '
+	git init repo
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'objects filter with unknown option' '
+	cat >expect <<-EOF &&
+	fatal: invalid filter-spec ${SQ}unknown${SQ}
+	EOF
+	test_must_fail git -C repo cat-file --filter=unknown 2>err &&
+	test_cmp expect err
+'
+
+for option in blob:none blob:limit=1 object:type=tag sparse:oid=1234 tree:1 sparse:path=x
+do
+	test_expect_success "objects filter with unsupported option $option" '
+		case "$option" in
+		tree:1)
+			echo "usage: objects filter not supported: ${SQ}tree${SQ}" >expect
+			;;
+		sparse:path=x)
+			echo "fatal: sparse:path filters support has been dropped" >expect
+			;;
+		*)
+			option_name=$(echo "$option" | cut -d= -f1) &&
+			printf "usage: objects filter not supported: ${SQ}%s${SQ}\n" "$option_name" >expect
+			;;
+		esac &&
+		test_must_fail git -C repo cat-file --filter=$option 2>err &&
+		test_cmp expect err
+	'
+done
+
+test_expect_success 'objects filter: disabled' '
+	git -C repo cat-file --batch-check="%(objectname)" --batch-all-objects --no-filter >actual &&
+	sort actual >actual.sorted &&
+	git -C repo rev-list --objects --no-object-names --all >expect &&
+	sort expect >expect.sorted &&
+	test_cmp expect.sorted actual.sorted
+'
+
 test_done
-- 
2.49.0.604.gff1f9ca942.dirty
Previous: Patrick SteinhardtNext: Patrick Steinhardt
Message 34 of 44 in “builtin/cat-file: allow filtering objects in batch mode”
  1. 0/9 builtin/cat-file: allow filtering objects in batch modePatrick Steinhardt, Feb 21, 2025
  2. 1/9 builtin/cat-file: rename variable that tracks usagePatrick Steinhardt, Feb 21, 2025
  3. 3/9 builtin/cat-file: support "blob:none" objects filterPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 21, 2025
  4. Toon ClaesFeb 26, 2025
  5. Karthik NayakFeb 27, 2025
  6. 2/9 builtin/cat-file: wire up an option to filter objectsPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 21, 2025
  7. Toon ClaesFeb 26, 2025
  8. Patrick SteinhardtFeb 28, 2025
  9. Junio C HamanoFeb 28, 2025
  10. Patrick SteinhardtMar 3, 2025
  11. Karthik NayakFeb 27, 2025
  12. 4/9 builtin/cat-file: support "blob:limit=" objects filterPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 21, 2025
  13. 5/9 builtin/cat-file: support "object:type=" objects filterPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 21, 2025
  14. Toon ClaesFeb 26, 2025
  15. Patrick SteinhardtFeb 28, 2025
  16. 6/9 pack-bitmap: expose function to iterate over bitmapped objectsPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 21, 2025
  17. Junio C HamanoFeb 24, 2025
  18. Patrick SteinhardtFeb 25, 2025
  19. Junio C HamanoFeb 25, 2025
  20. Taylor BlauFeb 27, 2025
  21. Patrick SteinhardtFeb 28, 2025
  22. Taylor BlauFeb 27, 2025
  23. Junio C HamanoFeb 27, 2025
  24. Taylor BlauFeb 27, 2025
  25. 8/9 builtin/cat-file: deduplicate logic to iterate over all objectsPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 21, 2025
  26. 7/9 pack-bitmap: introduce function to check whether a pack is bitmappedPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 21, 2025
  27. Taylor BlauFeb 27, 2025
  28. 9/9 builtin/cat-file: use bitmaps to efficiently filter by object typePatrick Steinhardt, Feb 21, 2025
  29. Karthik NayakFeb 27, 2025
  30. Taylor BlauFeb 27, 2025
  31. 00/11 builtin/cat-file: allow filtering objects in batch modePatrick Steinhardt, Apr 2, 2025
  32. 01/11 builtin/cat-file: rename variable that tracks usagePatrick Steinhardt, Apr 2, 2025
  33. 02/11 builtin/cat-file: introduce function to report object statusPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 2, 2025
  34. 03/11 builtin/cat-file: wire up an option to filter objectsPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 2, 2025
  35. 04/11 builtin/cat-file: support "blob:none" objects filterPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 2, 2025
  36. 05/11 builtin/cat-file: support "blob:limit=" objects filterPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 2, 2025
  37. 06/11 builtin/cat-file: support "object:type=" objects filterPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 2, 2025
  38. 07/11 pack-bitmap: allow passing payloads to `show_reachable_fn()`Patrick Steinhardt, Apr 2, 2025
  39. 08/11 pack-bitmap: add function to iterate over filtered bitmapped objectsPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 2, 2025
  40. 09/11 pack-bitmap: introduce function to check whether a pack is bitmappedPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 2, 2025
  41. 10/11 builtin/cat-file: deduplicate logic to iterate over all objectsPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 2, 2025
  42. 11/11 builtin/cat-file: use bitmaps to efficiently filter by object typePatrick Steinhardt, Apr 2, 2025
  43. Karthik NayakApr 3, 2025
  44. Junio C HamanoApr 8, 2025

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