From: Junio C Hamano Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:58:07 GMT Subject: Re: [PATCH 1/2] clone: Fix error message for reference repository Message-ID: <7vhajh15w0.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org> In-Reply-To: <20130408000658.GG27178@pug.qqx.org> Aaron Schrab writes: > At 16:48 -0700 07 Apr 2013, Jonathan Nieder wrote: > >>> Do not report an argument to clone's --reference option is not a local >>> directory. Nothing checks for the actual directory so we have no way to >>> know if whether or not exists. Telling the user that a directory doesn't >>> exist when that isn't actually known may lead him or her on the wrong >>> path to finding the problem. >> >>I don't understand the above explanation. Could you give an example? > > I originally noticed this while trying to use a submodule as a > reference repository. I do agree that it would be nice to dereference .git gitfile when we deal with --reference argument, but you do not want to use in-tree repository of a submodule working tree. What happens when you have to check out a version of the containing superproject that did not have the submodule you are borrowing from? The directory will disappear, leaving the borrowing repository still pointing at it with its .git/objects/info/alternates file, no?