Re: Anomalous conflicts during git rebase

Johannes Sixt [off-list ref] writes:

adr3nald0s@gmail.com wrote:

quoted

On a clone of linux-2.6:

    git checkout -b topic/test v2.6.15
    touch drivers/a-file.c
    git add drivers/a-file.c
    git commit -m 'Add a file'
    git checkout -b temp0 v2.6.16
    git rebase topic/test

I get the following:

    Applying [ACPI] handle ACPICA 20050916's acpi_resource.type rename

..

quoted

    CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in drivers/char/hpet.c

..

quoted

Is this a bug, or is there a reason I am seeing conflicts in files
I've never touched?

I am not picking on you, Johannes, but I was expecting a response like
this:

You are using the rebase the wrong way round.

I am very well aware of how rebase is intended to be used.  The
components of git are not always used for their semantic purpose.  As
recommended frequently on this list, it is common to bend them to your
purpose and use them in non-intuitive ways.

The purpose of the commands above is to have a git repository from
2.6.15 forward that has our code, XEN and some cherry-pick'd
back-ported fixes integrated throughout.  We will be doing a lot of
git-bisect'ing to find where various things changed that break our
code and certain edge-case usages of XEN.

So my question stands and it is not, "Adr3nalD0S, why _would_ you do
this?"  It is, "Why does git report conflicts that do not exist?"

P.S.  This isn't the first project I have run into this on.  It's just
the first one where I decided to try and do something about it.