1.5.0.rc1.gb60d: fetch in another branch works strangely

I created a new branch in the kernel to carry a not yet official patch, to keep this up to date I do:

   $ git fetch git://git2.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git
   $ git pull . origin

The kernel repository is quite old, so it has the old-fashoned setup. I see:

  $ less .git/refs/heads/bz-7795 
  d132ed980aee1bdcc6fa02b91da95a357902eb3c
  $ less .git/refs/heads/origin  
  d39c9400ae0d60aaaf534b1ad860a9bc1413d8af

And this last ref doesn't change when fetching.

Strangely, each time I fetch it gets 7 new objects (I haven't pulled, I do that once I'm sure I've got all). As I tend to doubt that we are /that/ syncronized with Linus, something fishy is going on here...

First noticed this with 1.5.0.rc1.g4494.

"Horst H. von Brand" <vonbrand@inf.utfsm.cl> wrote:

That's only writing into FETCH_HEAD whatever branch is marked as HEAD in Linus' repository. No local refs are being updated.

So this won't merge in the changes fetched above.

Why not setup that URL as a remote (git remote add linus ....) Then you can do:

  $ git fetch linus
  $ git merge linus/master

or 

  $ git fetch linus
  $ git pull . linus/master

or 

  $ git pull linus master

"Horst H. von Brand" <vonbrand@inf.utfsm.cl> writes:

If you use longhand without colon-refspec (src:dst), then the fetch result will be in temporary ref, FETCH_HEAD. (google, or gmane search for a message on "temporary ref" and "FETCH_HEAD" by Linus for gory details). So next fetch will keep re-fetching the same thing (this has been how "fetch" was designed to work from day one and there is nothing new).

You do not have origin tracking branch (well, you do -have- one, but by doing the longhand without colon-refspec, you choose not to keep it up-to-date), so that would try to merge an ancient copy you obtained probably when you cloned to create the repository.

You either can do:

 (1) Ad-hoc promiscuous pull without using tracking branch

     $ git pull git://git.kernel.org/...../linux-2.6.git

     This is good for one-shot pulling from random place when
     you notice somebody you usually do not interact with has
     something interesting.  I do not think you would want to do
     that with Linus.

 (2) Use remote shorthand, define and maintain tracking branch(es).

     In the traditional configuration,
     you would have .git/remotes/origin that says something
     like:

	URL: git://git.kernel.org/...../torvalds/linux-2.6.git
	Pull: refs/heads/master:refs/heads/origin

     With the newer configuration, the moral equivalent is found
     in your .git/config file and would look like something like
     this:

	[remote "origin"]
        	url = git://git.kernel.org/...../linux-2.6.git/
		fetch = +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/*
	[branch "master"]
        	merge = refs/heads/master

     In either way, you can update the tracking branch with:

     $ git fetch origin ;# or just "git fetch"

     With this, since you -do- have and -maintain- the tracking
     branch, you can do after this "git fetch":

     $ git merge origin

     to merge in what you have fetched.