Re: [PATCH 1/5] Add is_absolute_path(), make_absolute_path() and normalize_path()

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Jul 26, 2007, 18:46 UTC
Message-ID: <7v4pjr80lr.fsf@assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.64.0707261456040.14781@racer.site>

Johannes Schindelin <Johannes.Schindelin@gmx.de> writes:

Show 12 quoted lines

> Agree.  Maybe a comment above the function, like
>
> 	/*
> 	 * The function normalize_path() converts ".." and "." names in 
> 	 * the given path so that "foo/../bar/./" will come out as "bar".
> 	 *
> 	 * Note: normalize_path() does not follow symlinks, so if "foo" is
> 	 * a symlink in the example above, the result will not work as 
> 	 * expected.
> 	 */
>
> Hmm?

That comment only states the obvious and does not give a clue to the callers when it should not be used, I am afraid. For example, paths taken out of index or recursively reading trees are Ok because there will not be ".." and "." in them. Making a path given by the user relative to the cwd by prepending what is returned by setup_git_directory() may or may not be safe, depending on how setup_git_directory() does things (I think the original one is safe; I am reasonably sure with the current one when GIT_WORK_TREE is not in use; I do not know when that environment variable is there with the current code with or without your patch series).