From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Wed, 15 May 2019 01:50:52 GMT
Subject: Re: Missing branches after clone
Message-ID: <xmqq5zqc8ozn.fsf@gitster-ct.c.googlers.com>
In-Reply-To: <0c9ec78a-9245-e1df-7ec6-a5d77d1a5261@iee.org>

Philip Oakley <philipoakley@iee.org> writes:

> It is a 'branch which tracks a remote', and it is has the 'last time I
> looked' state of the branch that is on the remote server, which may
> have, by now, advanced or changed.

Yup, I thought we long time ago decided to discourage use of "remote
branch(es)" in our documentation to help unconfuse users and stick
to the term "a remote-tracking branch" (the "remote-tracking" is a
hyphenated one word)?

> So you need to have the three distinct views in your head of 'My
> branch, held locally', 'my copy of Their branch, from when I last
> looked', and 'Their branch, on a remote server, in a state I haven't
> seen recently'.

Yup.  FWIW, when I need to refer to the last one, I'd always say "a
branch at the remote" to avoid the confusing term "remote branch".