Re: [GSoC][PATCH] builtin/refs: add 'get' subcommand
With apologies if I cover well-trodden ground, as I haven’t been closely following this effort.
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> Le 23 sept. 2025 à 06:47, Meet Soni <meetsoni3017@gmail.com> a écrit :
>
> While `git-rev-parse(1)` and `git-show-ref(1)` can be used to read
> reference values, they have drawbacks for scripting and discoverability.
> `rev-parse` performs DWIM expansion which is unpredictable for scripts,
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> To address this, introduce a new plumbing command, `git refs get <ref>`.
> This new command provides three key advantages:
>
> - It requires an exact refname and does not perform expansion, making
> it safer and more predictable for scripting.
What are the disadvantages of rev-parse’s DWIMmery in scripts? I would think it makes handling user input easier (e.g., my custom script can take a local branch name without writing « refs/heads/ » on the command-line). OTOH, a script that wants to precisely identify a ref can do so already, no?
Since rev-parse presumably won’t go away, it might be ok to have 2 ways of parsing (one with magic and one without), but that might be back to the same boat of not having a unified interface 😅
Perhaps later we can add a « --dwim » flag for looser parsing, giving scripteds flexibility but strictness by default?
Ben Knoble <ben.knoble@gmail.com>