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Re: [PATCH] Ensure that commit/status don't stat all files when core.ignoreStat = true

From
Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date
May 27, 2008, 20:00 UTC
Message-ID
<7v7idf1pqy.fsf@gitster.siamese.dyndns.org>
In-Reply-To
<1211880549-15758-1-git-send-email-marius@trolltech.com>
Marius Storm-Olsen <marius@trolltech.com> writes:
Show 18 quoted lines
> diff --git a/read-cache.c b/read-cache.c
> index 8b467f8..104e387 100644
> --- a/read-cache.c
> +++ b/read-cache.c
> @@ -882,6 +882,16 @@ static struct cache_entry *refresh_cache_ent(struct index_state *istate,
>  	if (ce_uptodate(ce))
>  		return ce;
>  
> +	/*
> +	 * assume_unchanged is used to avoid lstats to check if the
> +	 * file has been modified. When true, the user need to
> +	 * manually update the index.
> +	 */
> +	if (assume_unchanged) {
> +		ce_mark_uptodate(ce);
> +		return ce;
> +	}
> +

The description for core.ignorestat in Documentation/config.txt is quite bogus. That single bit does _not_ determine globally if we lstat(2) or not. The description in Documentation/git-update-index.txt about it (look for the section "Using assume unchanged bit") accurately describes what it is meant to do. The rules are:

 - (ce->ce_flags & CE_VALID) is the only thing that decides if we can omit
   lstat(2) for _that particular path_.  There is no global "we would
   never ever run lstat(2)" option, and core.ignorestat certainly isn't
   it.
 - you can use the assume-unchanged mechanism without setting
   core.ignorestat.  You flip the CE_VALID bit for selected paths manually
   and forget about them afterwards, when you would want all of your usual
   "active" changes noticed by git, while skipping lstat(2) overhead in
   areas you are not interested in.
 - when you say "git update-index" (or "git add") for a path, if you have
   core.ignorestat set, that path is automatically marked with CE_VALID,
   so that later lstat(2) will be omitted for that particular path.  IOW,
   by having core.ignorestat set, you are promising that you are not going
   to _further_ change the work tree contents _without_ telling git --- or
   at least you are promising that you _will_ tell git if you change it
   when it matters.  But you have to tell git at least once what the
   contents are.

Would it be sufficient for what you are trying to do if you changed that test to something like this?

        /*
         * CE_VALID means the user promised us that the change to
         * the work tree does not matter and told us not to worry.
         */
	if (!ignore_valid && (ce->ce_flags & CE_VALID)) {
        	ce_mark_uptodate(ce);
		return ce;
	}
Show 29 quoted lines
> diff --git a/wt-status.c b/wt-status.c
> index a44c543..72db466 100644
> --- a/wt-status.c
> +++ b/wt-status.c
> @@ -342,7 +342,14 @@ void wt_status_print(struct wt_status *s)
>  	wt_status_print_changed(s);
>  	if (wt_status_submodule_summary)
>  		wt_status_print_submodule_summary(s);
> -	wt_status_print_untracked(s);
> +
> +	if (assume_unchanged && !s->untracked) {
> +		if (s->commitable)
> +			fprintf(s->fp, "# Untracked files not listed (use -u option to show untracked files)\n");
> +		/* !s->commitable message displayed below */
> +	}
> +	else
> +		wt_status_print_untracked(s);
>  
>  	if (s->verbose && !s->is_initial)
>  		wt_status_print_verbose(s);
> @@ -357,6 +364,8 @@ void wt_status_print(struct wt_status *s)
>  			printf("nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use \"git add\" to track)\n");
>  		else if (s->is_initial)
>  			printf("nothing to commit (create/copy files and use \"git add\" to track)\n");
> +		else if (assume_unchanged && !s->untracked)
> +			printf("nothing to commit (use -u to show untracked files)\n");
>  		else
>  			printf("nothing to commit (working directory clean)\n");
>  	}

The core.ignorestat variable does not have anything to do with showing untracked files. It is about "do we mark the added path as CE_VALID, meaning that we do not have to lstat(2) them?" IOW, it is about tracked files.

While it might be useful in certain workflows to ignore untracked files, I do not think it is a good idea to overload such an unrelated meaning to the variable.

Previous: Marius Storm-OlsenNext: Marius Storm-Olsen
Message 2 of 11 in “Ensure that commit/status don't stat all files when core.ignoreStat = true”
  1. Ensure that commit/status don't stat all files when core.ignoreStat = trueMarius Storm-Olsen, May 27, 2008
  2. Junio C HamanoMay 27, 2008
  3. Marius Storm-OlsenMay 27, 2008
  4. 1/3 Clearify the documentation for core.ignoreStatMarius Storm-Olsen, May 30, 2008
  5. 2/3 Introduce core.showUntrackedFiles to make it possible to disable showing of untracked files.Simon Hausmann, May 30, 2008
  6. 3/3 Add shortcut in refresh_cache_ent() for marked entries.Marius Storm-Olsen, May 30, 2008
  7. Marius Storm-OlsenMay 30, 2008
  8. Marius Storm-OlsenMay 30, 2008
  9. Marius Storm-OlsenMay 30, 2008
  10. Junio C HamanoMay 30, 2008
  11. Marius Storm-OlsenMay 31, 2008

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