From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2021 09:10:35 GMT
Subject: Re: Request: `git restore $commit $file` shouldn’t override uncommited changes
Message-ID: <xmqqy2d2ai5w.fsf@gitster.g>
In-Reply-To: <I_ZK84DfFkUoO9FcqjidSjmsvktNt-k4tPiAGNIP5ztKjk0RQCfFmyRrRHaB414UaWsJO7kWPBcgHlRqAecH7r9mAj0TLm5k6T5_YzmiZ4c=@pm.me>

Robin Moussu <moussu.robin@pm.me> writes:

> On the contrary, if `--source $commit` is specified, I would like
> to get an error if $file has uncommitted changes.

Not necessarily.  I've done this number of times:

 - start from the current state (HEAD), make changes

 - end up making a mess that I'd rather not use.

 - realize that the endgame I seek is fairly close to the work I did
   for another branch.

 - "git checkout $that_branch -- $those_paths".

So, it is not cut-and-dried that it _always_ (or even _often_) is a
mistake to try overwriting a working tree file with modifiations with
a version of a file from commit that is not HEAD.  It may be _always_
an error for your work habit.  It would almost always be what I want
in my experience for me.