Re: Proposal: create meaningful aliases for git reset's hard/soft/mixed

From: Phil Hord <phil.hord@gmail.com>
Date: Dec 2, 2011, 15:38 UTC
Message-ID: <CABURp0pmnsgE1ywW-W2+QFNci=3Lm=JKj9Y3U8zjh8+Cg_NA6Q@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <CAGK7Mr7zdstbm7QsrYq9a6m9ui_r8Ak8XtyWADLQ0n-mXiov4w@mail.gmail.com>

On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 9:27 AM, Philippe Vaucher <philippe.vaucher@gmail.com> wrote:

Show 13 quoted lines

> Maybe we'd start by listing the features we want to be able to do:
>
> - Move git's HEAD to a particular commit without touching the files or the index
> - Move git's HEAD to a particular commit and clear the index but
> without touching the files
> - Move git's HEAD to a particular commit and clear the index and have
> all the files match that particular commit files
> - Move git's HEAD to a particular commit and clear the index and have
> all the files match that particular commit files and remove files that
> are unknown to that commit
>
> Is there a scenario I'm missing? Once we have the scenarios nailed
> down we can start thinking about how to express them.

Aim higher.

Do not think about the git-reset command and all of its features. Moreover, do not limit yourself to git-reset's functionality.

Think about why you need to use git-reset. Why do new users need to use git-reset? What is it they are after?

For me, it was the three I mentioned before.

So, let's look at yours:

> - Move git's HEAD to a particular commit without touching the files or the index

I know what this is, but I don't know to describe it without saying "reset". It's like teleportation. "Move me to a new location in the tree". git teleport <commit>

> - Move git's HEAD to a particular commit and clear the index but
> without touching the files

git teleport --index <commit>

> - Move git's HEAD to a particular commit and clear the index and have
> all the files match that particular commit files

git checkout --clean <commit>

> - Move git's HEAD to a particular commit and clear the index and have
> all the files match that particular commit files and remove files that
> are unknown to that commit

git checkout --clean <commit> && git clean -fd  # maybe this needs a switch?

One you left out is this:
- Do NOT move git's HEAD; clear the index and workdir

git reset

I think the ability to move git's HEAD is what makes reset dangerous, especially in the hands of new users.

Phil