From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2022 22:04:33 GMT
Subject: Re: Lost file after git merge
Message-ID: <xmqqh72z4lu6.fsf@gitster.g>
In-Reply-To: <701c318c-1a1b-1793-90e8-807cf97dc948@web.de>

René Scharfe <l.s.r@web.de> writes:

>> Three-way merge between X and Y is all about taking what X did if Y
>> didn't have any opinion on what X touched.  This is exactly that
>> case.  The history 0--->3 didn't have any opinion on what should be
>> in P or whether P should exist, and that is why there is no change
>> between these two endpoints.
>
> The last sentence is not necessarily true.  You could also say that
> 0--->3 cared so much about path P having content A that it brought it
> back from the void.  Determining whether a de-facto revert
> - intended to return to an uncaring state of "take whatever main has" or
> - meant to choose *that* specific content which incidentally is on main
> is not possible from the snapshots at the merge point alone, I think.

Yes, it is doable.  It no longer is a three-way merge if we did so,
though ;-)