From: Jakub Narebski <jnareb@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:57:02 GMT
Subject: Re: GSoC - Better "git log --follow" support
Message-ID: <m339mi6ago.fsf@localhost.localdomain>
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTi=n7e70UqYU+6wpG4cu95fsg39tVM6=7fpfdZFz@mail.gmail.com>

Michał Łowicki <mlowicki@gmail.com> writes:

> I'm looking at idea about better git log --follow support from
> https://git.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/SoC2011Ideas .There is something
> like this - "[.. ] it does not interact well with git's usual history
> simplification [...]". Can someone elaborate this? I've found History
> Simplification in git rev-list man but don't know yet about issues
> with --follow.

Well, '--follow' option to git-log is a bit of bolted-on hack.  

It does work only for single file (it doesn't work e.g. for
directory), and it not always work correctly.  For example

  $ git log --follow gitweb/gitweb.perl

correctly follows gitweb history across gitweb.cgi => gitweb.perl
rename in 5d043a3 (gitweb: fill in gitweb configuration by Makefile,
2006-08-01), but it doesn't follow through subtree merging of gitweb
repository in 0a8f4f0 (Merge git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/git/gitweb,
2006-06-10).

-- 
Jakub Narebski
Poland
ShadeHawk on #git