Re: [FAQ?] Rationale for git's way to manage the index

>  - I just switch back to my starting point (and now I'm usually on
>    "master"), and do
>
>         git diff -R target > diff
>
>    to create a diff of my current tree (which is initially the starting
>    point) to the good result.
>
>  - I actually edit the "diff" file by hand, and edit it down to the part I
>    actually want to commit as the first in the series. And then I just do
>    a "git-apply diff" to actually apply that part to my working tree.
>
>  - I then edit any missing parts in the actual working tree (for example,
>    if there were mixed hunks that I want to get to in later commits, and I
>    edited out above, or that I need to partially undo), to do any
>    finishing touches.
>
>  - I now have a tree I can compile and test, and has the "first part" of
>    the journey towards the final "target" state. If compiling/testing
>    shows that I missed something, I can still fix things, and/or go back
>    to doing another "git diff -R target" to see if I missed something).
>
>  - I commit that first case, and repeat the sequence from step 2 (and
>    at every step, the "diff" file ends up shrinking and shrinking).