From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2012 06:42:14 GMT
Subject: Re: BUG 1.7.9: git branch fails to create new branch when --edit-description is used
Message-ID: <7v39azxb5l.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org>
In-Reply-To: <4F24E78A.7060502@alum.mit.edu>

Michael Haggerty <mhagger@alum.mit.edu> writes:

> On 01/28/2012 08:27 AM, Junio C Hamano wrote:
>> 
>> We could error it out (i.e. you cannot name a thing that does not yet
>> exist), or we could consider it is a convenience feature that you can
>> prepare a description even before you create one, or we could even tweak
>> it more like "-t $name" that tries to work both on existing one (without
>> changing any base) or non-existing one, creating it while at it. The last
>> approach historically is the most error prone (we had numerous bugs in the
>> create_branch() helper after it started allowing an existing branch when
>> updating the "track" information) and I would rather not go that route if
>> we can avoid it.
>> 
>> Honestly speaking, I haven't formed an opinion.
>
> I vote for an error.  Otherwise a typo in the branch name would lead to
> the description's apparent disappearance into Nirvana.  An error would,
> for example, have made it clear to the OP what was happening.
>
> A more useful option might be
>
>     git branch --with-description <branchname> [<start-point>]
>
> i.e., that a branch's description can be set at the same time as the
> branch is created.

So you are saying either option 1 or 3 is preferrable, while I was saying
I would rather avoid 3 if we could avoid it. Is that the short version?