Re* BUG: merge -s theirs is not in effect (does the same as -s ours)

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Sep 25, 2017, 05:33 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqqmv5je412.fsf_-_@gitster.mtv.corp.google.com>
In-Reply-To: <20170925031751.lg7zk6krt65dxwas@hopa.kiewit.dartmouth.edu>

Yaroslav Halchenko <yoh@onerussian.com> writes:

> d'oh, indeed there is no git-merge-theirs  neither in debian pkg or a freshly
> built git  and I found a rogue script in the PATH (which did nothing
> apparently, sorry!). BUT I was originally mislead by the --help/manpage:

Ahh, you're right. The text does make readers expect "-s theirs" to exist.

-- >8 --
Subject: merge-strategies: avoid implying that "-s theirs" exists

The description of `-Xours` merge option has a parenthetical note that tells the readers that it is very different from `-s ours`, which is correct, but the description of `-Xtheirs` that follows it carelessly says "this is the opposite of `ours`", giving a false impression that the readers also need to be warned that it is very different from `-s theirs`, which in reality does not even exist.

Clarify it a bit to avoid misleading readers.

Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
---

 * I hope this should help things a bit.

   It is a different matter to resurrect the age old discussion that
   happend in the summer of 2008 if '-s theirs' should or should not
   exist.  In short, the previous discussion can be summarised to
   "we don't want '-s theirs' as it encourages the wrong workflow".

   https://public-inbox.org/git/alpine.DEB.1.00.0807290123300.2725@eeepc-johanness/
   https://public-inbox.org/git/7vtzen7bul.fsf@gitster.siamese.dyndns.org/
   https://public-inbox.org/git/20080720192130.6117@nanako3.lavabit.com/

   It is OK for people to come with new perspective and bring new
   ideas to the table.  We learned from experience while using Git
   for longer and are wiser than what we were back then, and might
   be able to make a better decision ;-)

 Documentation/merge-strategies.txt | 3 ++-
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/merge-strategies.txt b/Documentation/merge-strategies.txt
index 2eb92b9327..a09d597463 100644
--- a/Documentation/merge-strategies.txt
+++ b/Documentation/merge-strategies.txt
@@ -39,7 +39,8 @@ even look at what the other tree contains at all.  It discards everything
 the other tree did, declaring 'our' history contains all that happened in it.
 
 theirs;;
-	This is the opposite of 'ours'.
+	This is the opposite of 'ours'; note that, unlike 'ours', there is
+	no 'theirs' merge stragegy to confuse this merge option with.
 
 patience;;
 	With this option, 'merge-recursive' spends a little extra time