git/list[1] front-page[2] threads[3] people[4] search[5] about
 

Re: [PATCH/RFC v4 3/3] branch: add copy branch feature implementation

From
Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date
Jun 6, 2017, 12:03 UTC
Message-ID
<xmqqink98gsd.fsf@gitster.mtv.corp.google.com>
In-Reply-To
<CACBZZX5OS_cz_mo4rpd+=DGtyN4SfipGrOXwVHJisv3CywoFaw@mail.gmail.com>
Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason <avarab@gmail.com> writes:
Show 17 quoted lines
> On Tue, Jun 6, 2017 at 2:10 AM, Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> wrote:
>
>> When somebody says "I want to rename my current branch to X", it is
>> clear that the person wants to end up being on a branch called X.
>>
>> To me, "I want to copy my current branch to Y" sounds more like "I
>> want to create another Y that looks just like the current branch,
>> but I want stay on my current branch".
>
> This would be more useful to me if the semantics were copy & checkout
> instead of just copy, since when I'd like to copy branches it's almost
> always because I'm on some topic branch and want to create & work on a
> new copy of that topic branch.
>
> It would also be consistent with "git branch -m" and easier to
> explain, i.e. "git branch -c just like -m except it doesn't delete the
> branch name/config you moved away from".

The way I would use this feature, I'd imagine, would be to stash away the current state of the branch before I try to do something potentially stupid, and then recover the original state by reverting back, i.e.

    $ git branch -c master backup
    ... do silly things to the master branch ...
    ... ok, enough silliness. go back to sane state ...
    $ git branch -M backup master

Having said that, I think it is merely the matter of personal taste and there is no single "right" definition. I do not have a strong feeling either way.

To play devil's advocate, I'd anticipate a criticism, if we take your interpretation (which I do not _mind_, even though I do not have strong feeling _for_ it), saying "I just told you to _copy_ it. If I wanted to check it out, I'd do that myself. Why are you doing more than I asked, stupid Git."

I have to say upfront that against such a criticism, I won't defend your position myself.

Previous: Sahil DuaNext: Sahil Dua
Message 22 of 39 in “branch: add tests for new copy branch feature”
  1. 1/6 branch: add tests for new copy branch featureSahil Dua, May 31, 2017
  2. 4/6 config: modify function signature to include copy argumentSahil Dua, May 31, 2017
  3. 6/6 branch: don't copy or rename config when same branch nameSahil Dua, May 31, 2017
  4. 3/6 config: abstract out create section from key logicSahil Dua, May 31, 2017
  5. 2/6 branch: add copy branch optionSahil Dua, May 31, 2017
  6. Junio C HamanoJun 1, 2017
  7. Sahil DuaJun 1, 2017
  8. 5/6 config: add copy config section logicSahil Dua, May 31, 2017
  9. 1/3 branch: add tests for new copy branch featureSahil Dua, Jun 1, 2017
  10. 2/3 config: abstract out create section from key logicSahil Dua, Jun 1, 2017
  11. 3/3 branch: add copy branch feature implementationSahil Dua, Jun 1, 2017
  12. Ævar Arnfjörð BjarmasonJun 1, 2017
  13. Sahil DuaJun 1, 2017
  14. 1/3 branch: add tests for new copy branch featureSahil Dua, Jun 5, 2017
  15. 2/3 config: abstract out create section from key logicSahil Dua, Jun 5, 2017
  16. 3/3 branch: add copy branch feature implementationSahil Dua, Jun 5, 2017
  17. Sahil DuaJun 5, 2017
  18. Junio C HamanoJun 6, 2017
  19. Junio C HamanoJun 6, 2017
  20. Ævar Arnfjörð BjarmasonJun 6, 2017
  21. Sahil DuaJun 6, 2017
  22. Junio C HamanoJun 6, 2017
  23. 1/3 config: create a function to format section headersSahil Dua, Jun 13, 2017
  24. 2/3 branch: add test for -m renaming multiple config sectionsSahil Dua, Jun 13, 2017
  25. Junio C HamanoJun 13, 2017
  26. Ævar Arnfjörð BjarmasonJun 13, 2017
  27. Junio C HamanoJun 13, 2017
  28. Ævar Arnfjörð BjarmasonJun 13, 2017
  29. 2/3 branch: add test for -m renaming multiple config sectionsSahil Dua, Jun 18, 2017
  30. 3/3 branch: add a --copy (-c) option to go with --move (-m)Sahil Dua, Jun 13, 2017
  31. Junio C HamanoJun 13, 2017
  32. Junio C HamanoJun 13, 2017
  33. Sahil DuaJun 14, 2017
  34. 3/3 branch: add a --copy (-c) option to go with --move (-m)Sahil Dua, Jun 18, 2017
  35. Junio C HamanoJun 13, 2017
  36. Ævar Arnfjörð BjarmasonJun 13, 2017
  37. 1/3 config: create a function to format section headersSahil Dua, Jun 18, 2017
  38. Ramsay JonesJun 19, 2017
  39. Sahil DuaJun 19, 2017

Read the whole thread, see it on lore, or plain text.

$ cat FOOTERMessages come from the public archive at lore.kernel.org/git, fetched every hour. The front page is chosen and written each morning by an AI editor and can be wrong; the threads themselves are the record. About and API. For agents: an MCP server at https://gitlist.dev/mcp, and any thread, story or person page as Markdown by adding .md to its URL (or sending Accept: text/markdown). Details in /llms.txt.