Re: Digging through old vendor code

From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>
Date: Jan 13, 2008, 04:41 UTC
Message-ID: <alpine.LFD.1.00.0801122034090.2806@woody.linux-foundation.org>
In-Reply-To: <9e4733910801122009k5658488bx69c04a5cbf7d832a@mail.gmail.com>

On Sat, 12 Jan 2008, Jon Smirl wrote:

Show 7 quoted lines

>
> I have a file that a vendor has modified. It's a serial driver so I
> know which directory the original file came from. Is there a way to
> ask git to search through all of the past versions of all of the files
> in this directory and give me the top two or three choices as to what
> file the vendor originally copied before staring to edit? This is the
> same problem as picking the best diff base.

Heh. Maybe you could just use the rename logic?

Example of what *might* work:

 - go to the directory in the git tree you think the file came from

 - delete all the files that are *potential* sources (eg "rm *.c")

 - add the new file to that directory

 - commit the end result

 - ask git to find the best rename possibility, using a low rename 
   detection score, something like:

	git show -M1%

(and no, I don't guarantee that that "-M1%" is the right syntax, and in general you might well want to play with this concept a bit..)

No guarantees, but it just might work..

		Linus