Re: [PATCH 2/4] t6038: fix test with obviously incorrect expectations

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Aug 2, 2020, 19:57 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqq4kpkstwk.fsf@gitster.c.googlers.com>
In-Reply-To: <83a50f7e0bbfd19cffc5cffb9f17484e86443d0a.1596349986.git.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>

"Elijah Newren via GitGitGadget" <gitgitgadget@gmail.com> writes:

Show 8 quoted lines

> From: Elijah Newren <newren@gmail.com>
>
> t6038.11, 'cherry-pick patch from after text=auto' was set up so that on
> a branch with no .gitattributes file, you cherry-picked a patch from a
> branch that had a .gitattributes file (containing '* text=auto').
> Further, the two branches had a file which differed only in line
> endings.  In this situation, correct behavior is not well defined:
> should the .gitattributes file affect the merge or not?

I'd say that it is probably more intuitive to expect whatever attributes set on the currently checked out and receiving the cherry-picked change would take effect, but I do agree with you that this is not well defined. I think "changing attributes in the middle may produce unexpected/undefined results---validate it when you cross such a boundary" is a prudent advice we should give to the users.

Would it make more sense not to test ill defined behaviour at all instead, I wonder?

Thanks.