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[PATCH v4 00/10] Clarify pseudo-ref terminology

From
Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
Date
May 10, 2024, 08:48 UTC
Message-ID
<cover.1715330206.git.ps@pks.im>
In-Reply-To
<cover.1714398019.git.ps@pks.im>
Hi,

thi sis the fourth version of my patch series that aims to clarify the pseudo-ref terminology. Changes compared to v3:

  - Render refs in "Documentation/glossary-context.txt" more
    consistently with backticks, only.
  - Reorder patches 6 and 7 such that we first correct `is_root_ref()`,
    and then adapt `is_headref()`.
  - Furthermore, I have inlined `is_headref()` into `is_root_ref()`
    completely now as it didn't have any users anymore.
Thanks!
Patrick
Patrick Steinhardt (10):
  Documentation/glossary: redefine pseudorefs as special refs
  Documentation/glossary: clarify limitations of pseudorefs
  Documentation/glossary: define root refs as refs
  refs: rename `is_pseudoref()` to `is_root_ref()`
  refs: refname `is_special_ref()` to `is_pseudo_ref()`
  refs: root refs can be symbolic refs
  refs: classify HEAD as a root ref
  refs: pseudorefs are no refs
  ref-filter: properly distinuish pseudo and root refs
  refs: refuse to write pseudorefs
 Documentation/glossary-content.txt |  72 +++++++++----------
 builtin/for-each-ref.c             |   2 +-
 ref-filter.c                       |  16 +++--
 ref-filter.h                       |   4 +-
 refs.c                             | 108 ++++++++++++++---------------
 refs.h                             |  48 ++++++++++++-
 refs/files-backend.c               |   3 +-
 refs/reftable-backend.c            |   3 +-
 t/t5510-fetch.sh                   |   6 +-
 t/t6302-for-each-ref-filter.sh     |  34 +++++++++
 10 files changed, 185 insertions(+), 111 deletions(-)
Range-diff against v3:
 1:  e651bae690 !  1:  b1fc4c1ac7 Documentation/glossary: redefine pseudorefs as special refs
    @@ Documentation/glossary-content.txt: exclude;;
     ++
     +The following pseudorefs are known to Git:
     +
    -+ - "`FETCH_HEAD`" is written by linkgit:git-fetch[1] or linkgit:git-pull[1]. It
    ++ - `FETCH_HEAD` is written by linkgit:git-fetch[1] or linkgit:git-pull[1]. It
     +   may refer to multiple object IDs. Each object ID is annotated with metadata
     +   indicating where it was fetched from and its fetch status.
     +
    -+ - "`MERGE_HEAD`" is written by linkgit:git-merge[1] when resolving merge
    ++ - `MERGE_HEAD` is written by linkgit:git-merge[1] when resolving merge
     +   conflicts. It contains all commit IDs which are being merged.
      
      [[def_pull]]pull::
 2:  66ac046132 =  2:  dce3a0fa7e Documentation/glossary: clarify limitations of pseudorefs
 3:  243d616101 !  3:  79249962f5 Documentation/glossary: define root refs as refs
    @@ Documentation/glossary-content.txt: The following pseudorefs are known to Git:
     +match these rules. The following list is exhaustive and shall not be
     +extended in the future:
     ++
    -+ - AUTO_MERGE
    ++ - `AUTO_MERGE`
     +
    -+ - BISECT_EXPECTED_REV
    ++ - `BISECT_EXPECTED_REV`
     +
    -+ - NOTES_MERGE_PARTIAL
    ++ - `NOTES_MERGE_PARTIAL`
     +
    -+ - NOTES_MERGE_REF
    ++ - `NOTES_MERGE_REF`
     +
    -+ - MERGE_AUTOSTASH
    ++ - `MERGE_AUTOSTASH`
     ++
     +Different subhierarchies are used for different purposes. For example,
     +the `refs/heads/` hierarchy is used to represent local branches whereas
 4:  0a116f9d11 =  4:  ee2b090f75 refs: rename `is_pseudoref()` to `is_root_ref()`
 5:  484a0856bc =  5:  2c09bc7690 refs: refname `is_special_ref()` to `is_pseudo_ref()`
 7:  92a71222e1 !  6:  5e402811a6 refs: root refs can be symbolic refs
    @@ Commit message
         does not seem reasonable at all and I very much doubt that it results in
         anything sane.
     
    -    Furthermore, the behaviour is different to `is_headref()`, which only
    -    checks for the ref to exist. While that is in line with our glossary,
    -    this inconsistency only adds to the confusion.
    -
         Last but not least, the current behaviour can actually lead to a
         segfault when calling `is_root_ref()` with a reference that either does
         not exist or that is a symbolic ref because we never initialized `oid`.
    @@ refs.c: int is_root_ref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname)
      	size_t i;
      
      	if (!is_root_ref_syntax(refname))
    -@@ refs.c: int is_root_ref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname)
    - 	if (is_headref(refs, refname))
    - 		return 1;
    + 		return 0;
      
     +	/*
     +	 * Note that we cannot use `refs_ref_exists()` here because that also
    @@ refs.c: int is_root_ref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname)
      }
      
      int is_headref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname)
    - {
    --	if (!strcmp(refname, "HEAD"))
    --		return refs_ref_exists(refs, refname);
    -+	struct strbuf referent = STRBUF_INIT;
    -+	struct object_id oid = { 0 };
    -+	int failure_errno, ret = 0;
    -+	unsigned int flags;
    - 
    --	return 0;
    -+	/*
    -+	 * Note that we cannot use `refs_ref_exists()` here because that also
    -+	 * checks whether its target ref exists in case refname is a symbolic
    -+	 * ref.
    -+	 */
    -+	if (!strcmp(refname, "HEAD")) {
    -+		ret = !refs_read_raw_ref(refs, refname, &oid, &referent,
    -+					 &flags, &failure_errno);
    -+	}
    -+
    -+	strbuf_release(&referent);
    -+	return ret;
    - }
    +
    + ## refs.h ##
    +@@ refs.h: extern struct ref_namespace_info ref_namespace[NAMESPACE__COUNT];
    + void update_ref_namespace(enum ref_namespace namespace, char *ref);
      
    - static int is_current_worktree_ref(const char *ref) {
    + /*
    +- * Check whether the reference is an existing root reference.
    ++ * Check whether the reference is an existing root reference. A root reference
    ++ * that is a dangling symbolic ref is considered to exist.
    +  *
    +  * A root ref is a reference that lives in the root of the reference hierarchy.
    +  * These references must conform to special syntax:
     
      ## t/t6302-for-each-ref-filter.sh ##
     @@ t/t6302-for-each-ref-filter.sh: test_expect_success '--include-root-refs with other patterns' '
 6:  c196fe3c45 !  7:  b32c56afcb refs: classify HEAD as a root ref
    @@ Commit message
         - The "files" and "reftable" backends explicitly called both
           `is_root_ref()` and `is_headref()`.
     
    -    This change should thus essentially be a no-op.
    +    This also aligns behaviour or `is_root_ref()` and `is_headref()` such
    +    that we also return a trueish value when the ref is a dangling symbolic
    +    ref. As there are no callers of `is_headref()` left afer the refactoring
    +    we absorb it completely into `is_root_ref()`.
     
         Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
     
      ## refs.c ##
    +@@ refs.c: static int is_root_ref_syntax(const char *refname)
    + int is_root_ref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname)
    + {
    + 	static const char *const irregular_root_refs[] = {
    ++		"HEAD",
    + 		"AUTO_MERGE",
    + 		"BISECT_EXPECTED_REV",
    + 		"NOTES_MERGE_PARTIAL",
     @@ refs.c: int is_root_ref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname)
    + 	return ret;
    + }
      
    - 	if (!is_root_ref_syntax(refname))
    - 		return 0;
    -+	if (is_headref(refs, refname))
    -+		return 1;
    - 
    - 	if (ends_with(refname, "_HEAD")) {
    - 		refs_resolve_ref_unsafe(refs, refname,
    +-int is_headref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname)
    +-{
    +-	if (!strcmp(refname, "HEAD"))
    +-		return refs_ref_exists(refs, refname);
    +-
    +-	return 0;
    +-}
    +-
    + static int is_current_worktree_ref(const char *ref) {
    + 	return is_root_ref_syntax(ref) || is_per_worktree_ref(ref);
    + }
     
      ## refs.h ##
     @@ refs.h: void update_ref_namespace(enum ref_namespace namespace, char *ref);
    @@ refs.h: void update_ref_namespace(enum ref_namespace namespace, char *ref);
       */
      int is_root_ref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname);
      
    -+/*
    -+ * Check whether the reference is "HEAD" and whether it exists.
    -+ */
    - int is_headref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname);
    - 
    +-int is_headref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname);
    +-
      #endif /* REFS_H */
     
      ## refs/files-backend.c ##
 8:  8bd52e5363 !  8:  19af8c754c refs: pseudorefs are no refs
    @@ refs.c: int is_root_ref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname)
     +	if (!is_root_ref_syntax(refname) ||
     +	    is_pseudo_ref(refname))
      		return 0;
    - 	if (is_headref(refs, refname))
    - 		return 1;
    + 
    + 	/*
     @@ refs.c: static int refs_read_special_head(struct ref_store *ref_store,
      	return result;
      }
 9:  cd6d745a01 !  9:  86f7f2d2d8 ref-filter: properly distinuish pseudo and root refs
    @@ refs.c: int is_per_worktree_ref(const char *refname)
      		"MERGE_HEAD",
     
      ## refs.h ##
    -@@ refs.h: int is_root_ref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname);
    +@@ refs.h: void update_ref_namespace(enum ref_namespace namespace, char *ref);
       */
    - int is_headref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname);
    + int is_root_ref(struct ref_store *refs, const char *refname);
      
     +/*
     + * Pseudorefs are refs that have different semantics compared to
10:  6956fccced = 10:  640d3b169f refs: refuse to write pseudorefs
base-commit: 0f3415f1f8478b05e64db11eb8aaa2915e48fef6
-- 
2.45.0
Previous: Patrick SteinhardtNext: Patrick Steinhardt
Message 68 of 93 in “Clarify pseudo-ref terminology”
  1. 0/3 Clarify pseudo-ref terminologyPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 29, 2024
  2. 1/3 refs: move `is_special_ref()`Patrick Steinhardt, Apr 29, 2024
  3. 2/3 refs: do not label special refs as pseudo refsPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 29, 2024
  4. Phillip WoodApr 29, 2024
  5. Patrick SteinhardtApr 30, 2024
  6. Phillip WoodApr 30, 2024
  7. Patrick SteinhardtApr 30, 2024
  8. Jeff KingApr 30, 2024
  9. Karthik NayakApr 30, 2024
  10. Patrick SteinhardtApr 30, 2024
  11. Patrick SteinhardtApr 30, 2024
  12. Junio C HamanoApr 29, 2024
  13. Justin ToblerApr 29, 2024
  14. Patrick SteinhardtApr 30, 2024
  15. Jean-Noël AVILAMay 9, 2024
  16. Patrick SteinhardtMay 10, 2024
  17. 3/3 refs: fix segfault in `is_pseudoref()` when ref cannot be resolvedPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 29, 2024
  18. Phillip WoodApr 29, 2024
  19. Karthik NayakApr 29, 2024
  20. Phillip WoodApr 29, 2024
  21. Karthik NayakApr 29, 2024
  22. Patrick SteinhardtApr 30, 2024
  23. 00/10 Clarify pseudo-ref terminologyPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 30, 2024
  24. 01/10 Documentation/glossary: redefine pseudorefs as special refsPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 30, 2024
  25. Karthik NayakApr 30, 2024
  26. Justin ToblerApr 30, 2024
  27. Junio C HamanoApr 30, 2024
  28. Patrick SteinhardtMay 2, 2024
  29. 02/10 Documentation/glossary: clarify limitations of pseudorefsPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 30, 2024
  30. Kristoffer HaugsbakkApr 30, 2024
  31. 03/10 Documentation/glossary: define root refs as refsPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 30, 2024
  32. Karthik NayakApr 30, 2024
  33. 04/10 refs: rename `is_pseudoref()` to `is_root_ref()`Patrick Steinhardt, Apr 30, 2024
  34. Junio C HamanoApr 30, 2024
  35. 05/10 refs: refname `is_special_ref()` to `is_pseudo_ref()`Patrick Steinhardt, Apr 30, 2024
  36. Karthik NayakApr 30, 2024
  37. 06/10 refs: classify HEAD as a root refPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 30, 2024
  38. 07/10 refs: root refs can be symbolic refsPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 30, 2024
  39. Justin ToblerApr 30, 2024
  40. Patrick SteinhardtMay 2, 2024
  41. Justin ToblerMay 3, 2024
  42. Patrick SteinhardtMay 7, 2024
  43. 08/10 refs: pseudorefs are no refsPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 30, 2024
  44. 09/10 ref-filter: properly distinuish pseudo and root refsPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 30, 2024
  45. Karthik NayakApr 30, 2024
  46. Patrick SteinhardtMay 2, 2024
  47. Karthik NayakMay 2, 2024
  48. 10/10 refs: refuse to write pseudorefsPatrick Steinhardt, Apr 30, 2024
  49. 00/10 Clarify pseudo-ref terminologyPatrick Steinhardt, May 2, 2024
  50. 01/10 Documentation/glossary: redefine pseudorefs as special refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 2, 2024
  51. 02/10 Documentation/glossary: clarify limitations of pseudorefsPatrick Steinhardt, May 2, 2024
  52. 03/10 Documentation/glossary: define root refs as refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 2, 2024
  53. 04/10 refs: rename `is_pseudoref()` to `is_root_ref()`Patrick Steinhardt, May 2, 2024
  54. 05/10 refs: refname `is_special_ref()` to `is_pseudo_ref()`Patrick Steinhardt, May 2, 2024
  55. 06/10 refs: classify HEAD as a root refPatrick Steinhardt, May 2, 2024
  56. 07/10 refs: root refs can be symbolic refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 2, 2024
  57. Jeff KingMay 3, 2024
  58. Patrick SteinhardtMay 15, 2024
  59. Patrick SteinhardtMay 15, 2024
  60. Jeff KingMay 15, 2024
  61. Patrick SteinhardtMay 15, 2024
  62. Jeff KingMay 15, 2024
  63. Patrick SteinhardtMay 15, 2024
  64. Jeff KingMay 15, 2024
  65. 08/10 refs: pseudorefs are no refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 2, 2024
  66. 09/10 ref-filter: properly distinuish pseudo and root refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 2, 2024
  67. 10/10 refs: refuse to write pseudorefsPatrick Steinhardt, May 2, 2024
  68. 00/10 Clarify pseudo-ref terminologyPatrick Steinhardt, May 10, 2024
  69. 01/10 Documentation/glossary: redefine pseudorefs as special refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 10, 2024
  70. 02/10 Documentation/glossary: clarify limitations of pseudorefsPatrick Steinhardt, May 10, 2024
  71. 03/10 Documentation/glossary: define root refs as refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 10, 2024
  72. 04/10 refs: rename `is_pseudoref()` to `is_root_ref()`Patrick Steinhardt, May 10, 2024
  73. 05/10 refs: refname `is_special_ref()` to `is_pseudo_ref()`Patrick Steinhardt, May 10, 2024
  74. 06/10 refs: root refs can be symbolic refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 10, 2024
  75. 07/10 refs: classify HEAD as a root refPatrick Steinhardt, May 10, 2024
  76. 08/10 refs: pseudorefs are no refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 10, 2024
  77. 09/10 ref-filter: properly distinuish pseudo and root refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 10, 2024
  78. 10/10 refs: refuse to write pseudorefsPatrick Steinhardt, May 10, 2024
  79. Junio C HamanoMay 10, 2024
  80. 00/10 Clarify pseudo-ref terminologyPatrick Steinhardt, May 15, 2024
  81. 01/10 Documentation/glossary: redefine pseudorefs as special refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 15, 2024
  82. 02/10 Documentation/glossary: clarify limitations of pseudorefsPatrick Steinhardt, May 15, 2024
  83. 03/10 Documentation/glossary: define root refs as refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 15, 2024
  84. 04/10 refs: rename `is_pseudoref()` to `is_root_ref()`Patrick Steinhardt, May 15, 2024
  85. 05/10 refs: rename `is_special_ref()` to `is_pseudo_ref()`Patrick Steinhardt, May 15, 2024
  86. 06/10 refs: do not check ref existence in `is_root_ref()`Patrick Steinhardt, May 15, 2024
  87. Justin ToblerMay 15, 2024
  88. Patrick SteinhardtMay 16, 2024
  89. 07/10 refs: classify HEAD as a root refPatrick Steinhardt, May 15, 2024
  90. Justin ToblerMay 15, 2024
  91. 08/10 refs: pseudorefs are no refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 15, 2024
  92. 09/10 ref-filter: properly distinuish pseudo and root refsPatrick Steinhardt, May 15, 2024
  93. 10/10 refs: refuse to write pseudorefsPatrick Steinhardt, May 15, 2024

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