Re: [PATCH v2] checkout: implement "-" shortcut name for last branch

Hi,

On Thu, 15 Jan 2009, Junio C Hamano wrote:

I do not see a reason to limit the new notation "where I was" only to 
"git checkout".  Wouldn't it be handy if you can use the notation as the 
other branch to merge from, or the commit to rebase on?

[...]

Another reason is the one level limitation.  If we do not use LAST_HEAD,
and instead used HEAD reflog, to get to this information, there is no
reason we cannot to give an equally easy access to the second from the
last branch the user was on.

So I think it is just the matter of coming up with a clever syntax that
works on reflogs to name the nth last branch we were on and teach that
syntax to both get_sha1() and resolve_ref().

With the attached illustration patch,

     $ git checkout junk
     $ git chekcout master
     $ git checkout @{-1}

will take you back to junk branch.  It probably would serve as a starting
point, if anybody is interested.

I like it.  Additionaly, we could teach "checkout" that "-" is 
equivalent to "@{-1}", as checkout cannot possibly take stdin, so 
it would not hurt.  Thomas?

Ciao,
Dscho