Re: [PATCH] rev-parse --git-path: fix output when running in a subdirectory

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Feb 9, 2017, 21:50 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqqo9ybnie0.fsf@gitster.mtv.corp.google.com>
In-Reply-To: <alpine.DEB.2.20.1702092201080.3496@virtualbox>

Johannes Schindelin <Johannes.Schindelin@gmx.de> writes:

Show 20 quoted lines

> On Wed, 8 Feb 2017, Junio C Hamano wrote:
>
>> How long has "rev-parse --git-path" been around?  Had scripts in the
>> wild chance to learn to live with the "output is relative to the top of
>> the working tree" reality?  I think the answers are "since 2.5" and
>> "yes".
>
> Correct. And the third question is: How did the scripts work around this
> feature?
>
> The answer is obvious: by switching back to `$(git rev-parse
> --git-dir)/filename`.
>
> This is literally on what I spent the better part of Wednesday.
>
> There is just no way you can "fix" this otherwise. As an occasional shell
> scripter, you may be tempted to use `$(git rev-parse --show-cdup)$(git
> rev-parse --git-path filename)`, but of course that breaks in worktrees
> and if you do not use worktrees you would not even know that your
> workaround introduced another bug.

In case it is not clear, I understand all of the above.

I was just worried about the people who do *NOT* use worktrees and did the obvious "concatenate --cdup with --git-path" and thought their script were working happily and well. By prepending the path to the (real) location of the .git in the updated --git-path output ourselves, they will complain, our update broke their script.

If we introduced the fix gently, by (1) warn when "--git-path" is used but give the current output anyway, while adding the "fixed" one as another new option, and then (2) remove "--git-path" after several releases, they will not have to complain, even though they will see warning until they stop using "--git-path".

There may be gentler alternative ways to transition, and I do not worry about the specifics of them too much. I just think we cannot do this in a single step without harming existing users.