From: Thomas Rast <trast@inf.ethz.ch>
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 14:23:47 GMT
Subject: Re: [PATCH] mailmap: fix check for freeing memory
Message-ID: <871u5o785o.fsf@linux-k42r.v.cablecom.net>
In-Reply-To: <52137A63.3010609@googlemail.com>

Stefan Beller <stefanbeller@googlemail.com> writes:

> As I am resending the patch, could somebody please explain me
> the mechanism of the "# repo-abbrev:" line? Even git itself doesn't
> use it in the .mailmap file, but a quick google search shows up only
> kernel repositories.

I had no idea (we really lack documentation on this), but some history
digging shows this:

  commit 7595e2ee6ef9b35ebc8dc45543723e1d89765ce3
  Author: Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>
  Date:   Sat Nov 25 00:07:54 2006 -0800

      git-shortlog: make common repository prefix configurable with .mailmap
      
      The code had "/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/" hardcoded which was
      too specific to the kernel project.
      
      With this, a line in the .mailmap file:
      
          # repo-abbrev: /pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/
      
      can be used to cause the substring to be abbreviated to /.../
      on the title line of the commit message.
      
      Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>

It apparently serves to abbreviate commits coming from pull requests,
with a subject like

  Merge branch 'release' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/lenb/linux

-- 
Thomas Rast
trast@{inf,student}.ethz.ch