Re: [PATCH] docs: clarify that refs/notes/ do not keep the attached objects alive

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Feb 11, 2021, 07:30 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqqeehnysbv.fsf@gitster.c.googlers.com>
In-Reply-To: <CAESOdVDgpe9yacMxKLO_AjAnadcSjrik_NdwhW-4vDELf+UxPw@mail.gmail.com>

Martin von Zweigbergk <martinvonz@google.com> writes:

> Good point. You dropped the bit about the notes (texts) being kept
> alive. I don't know if you did that intentionally are not.

Yes, I did it on purpose, because it is just one of the things that can be reached from refs/, but we shouldn't write our document for those like me, who know what notes and other things in Git are.

Show 6 quoted lines

> I initially
> thought that we should keep that bit, but it's probably not actually
> very useful information. Users probably don't have large amounts of
> information stored in notes, so they probably don't care whether notes
> text is kept, especially since there's no good way of pruning the
> notes.

I am not sure if I agree with any part of the above. End-user data is precious no matter the volume, and we keep notes by making them reachable from refs in the refs/notes/ hierarchy.

I am not sure what qualifies, in your eyes, "good" way, but "git notes prune" is a good way to remove notes that are attached to objects that have already been pruned away.