From: Michael Witten Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:55:00 GMT Subject: Re: [PATCH] Docs: git checkout --orphan: `root commit' and `branch head' Message-ID: <2ab64110f87d419a84da2c94ebf0b1be-mfwitten@gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <7v39fhyk21.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org> On Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:25:10 -0700, Junio C Hamano wrote: > Michael Witten writes: > >> It seems like a more logical approach would be instead for "git >> commit" to take a "--root" option that would create a new root commit >> based on the current index and then point the current branch head to >> the new root commit. Thus: >> >> $ git checkout -b new_branch old_branch >> $ # Manipulate or not >> $ git commit --root >> >> That's how people think. > > This may indeed be an improvement. I suspect that we'd need to think about > it a bit more, but it feels right (perhaps introduce this new option, > deprecate --orphan from the checkout, and then eventually remove it > sometime in 1.8.0 timeframe). > >>>> The index and the working tree are adjusted as if you had previously run >>>> "git checkout ". This allows you to start a new history >>>> -that records a set of paths similar to by easily running >>>> +that records a set of paths similar to by just running >>>> "git commit -a" to make the root commit. >>> >>> "similar" is an understatement here, maybe "as in"? > > I do not think "as in" is an improvement. It completely ignores the > "Manipulate or not" part in the above, and "similar" was very much an > attempt to say "you do not have to commit it right away, but start from > the state and commit a deviation of it". Actually, that kind of change might make a lot of sense with respect to [PATCH v2]; here's the kind of text that [PATCH v2.1] will yield: ... Furthermore, the working tree and the index are adjusted as if you ran "git checkout "; thus, by just running "git commit", you can create a root commit with a tree that is exactly the same as the tree of . Naturally, before creating the commit, you may manipulate the index in any way you want. For example, if you want to create a root commit with a tree that is totally different from the tree of , then just clear the working tree and index first: From the top level of the working tree, run "git rm -rf .", and then prepare your new working tree and index as desired.