fast-import interface issues
- From
- Elliott Mitchell <ehem+git-scm@m5p.com>
- Date
- Apr 11, 2024, 22:18 UTC
- Message-ID
- <ZhhhmvjuYfWc535m@mattapan.m5p.com>
I've ended up trying to use `git fast-import` for a task and have ended up observing issues with the current interface.
First item, why is there no -0 option? Due to any string being a valid filename, most Unix utilities have evolved a -0 option (sometimes other characters). `find -print0`, `xargs -0`, `grep -z`, `grep -Z`, `tar -T --null`. Yet there is no `git fast-import -0`. I suspect this could work better with unusual filenames.
Second, forced use of quotes for 'ls' SP <path> LF seems a poor choice. Using the empty string as a dataref or the mark of the WIP commit seem better choices. In particular 'ls' SP SP <path> \0 could be readily distinguished from a sha1 or other existing data references.
Third, why is 'cat-blob' limited to blob data? `cat-file --batch` isn't limited to blobs, so why is `fast-import`'s equivalent so limited?
Alas, I'm already involved in too many things at once and cannot hope to implement these myself. Yet they do seem obvious limitations in what `git fast-import` can be used for.
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