Re: merge time

From: Jakub Narebski <jnareb@gmail.com>
Date: Jul 29, 2007, 23:19 UTC
Message-ID: <f8j795$qfi$1@sea.gmane.org>
In-Reply-To: <630183.45851.qm@web51001.mail.re2.yahoo.com>

[Cc: Matthew L Foster <mfoster167@yahoo.com>, git@vger.kernel.org]

Please, word wrap lines around 70 - 76 column.

Matthew L Foster wrote:

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> Sorry to bring up the time issue again [that I am perhaps still confused
> about] but I have been playing around with git more and I think I can
> phrase my question/observation better. 
> 
> From viewing gitweb.cgi I have observed a situation where Linus creates
> a tag, say rc1, and then he later merges changes but some subset of those
> changes/commits show up in the list in time order as taking place _before_
> the rc1 tag was made even though they were merged after.

Of course. The time ordering is by the time commits were _created_, not when they were merged.

In git, you can try tu use --topo-order parameter to git-log. In gitweb, not yet.

> Do I describe a real or possible phenomenon?

Real phenomenon.

> And does this happen because the developer that made the subset of changes
> in question commit them to his/her local repository in time order before
> the rc1 tag was made? So an external repository had the change before the
> rc1 tag was made but Linus' repository didn't?

That's correct. Well, Linus' repository might have had change, but just not merged in, but that is just small detail.

> But internally git on Linus' machine knows that the 
> gitweb.cgi displayed time order is wrong as far as the state is concerned
> because each repository's index file keeps local track of the true local
> state [just time isn't reconcilable], or am I missing something(s)?

Git does not know, and git proper has no utility to show for each commit when it was merged to given branch. And that is even more complicated by the fast-forward merges. Reflog (local matter, not displayed in gitweb, available as "git reflog show <branch>" or "git log --show-reflog [<branch>]" in git) keeps track of the branch tip history; it doesn't offer information [you think] you want.

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> Is it possible for gitweb.cgi to have a new view mode that sorts/displays
> the list based on merge time for commits (the time merged into Linus' or
> whatever repository) so the above situation doesn't happen?  The actual
> time of a local commit should be the time it was merged locally not the  
> time it was created externally/originally, right?

I don't think that it is possible, but you are welcome to try...

> Where can I find the gitweb.cgi source/package?
> I could maybe hack gitweb.cgi myself.

Gitweb is now in the git.git repository, in gitweb/gitweb.perl
(see also gitweb/README and gitweb/INSTALL).

> Please CC me on any replies since I am not subscribed to the list.

Please Cc: list.

-- 
Jakub Narebski
Warsaw, Poland
ShadeHawk on #git