Re: [PATCH v2] git-pull.sh: better warning message for "git pull" on detached head.

Finn Arne Gangstad [off-list ref] writes:

On Tue, Apr 07, 2009 at 11:56:21AM +0200, Matthieu Moy wrote:

quoted

Otherwise, git complains about not finding a branch to pull from in
'branch..merge', which is hardly understandable. While we're there,
reword the sentences slightly.
[...]
+	if [ -z "$curr_branch" ]; then
+		echo "You asked me to pull without telling me which branch you want"
+		echo "to merge with, and you are on a detached HEAD, so I cannot"
[...]

In this case why can't we just do

echo "You are currently not on any branch."

Well, I would understand this as "you can't pull when you're not on a
branch", which would be incorrect.

echo "git pull cannot be run without arguments unless you are on a branch."

This is better (less missleading).

And possibly also something like this:

echo "Usage: git pull <repository> <refspec>."
echo " See git-pull(1) for details."

This usage string would be incorrect, repository and refspec are not
always mandatory. To be correct, it should be
Usage: git pull [<repository> <refspec>]
and then you're back to the problem of having to explain why they are
optionnal.

If you need all the verbosity this error otherwise gives, "detached
HEAD" is probably going to be confusing?

Grepping the source, "not on a branch" seems more widely used than
"detached head" in the UI (including in another place of git-pull.sh),
so, yes, something like this would be better:

	if [ -z "$curr_branch" ]; then
		echo "You are not currently on a branch, so I cannot use any"
		echo "'branch.<branchname>.merge' in your configuration file."
		echo "Please specify which branch you want to merge on the command"
		echo "line and try again (e.g. 'git pull <repository> <refspec>')."
		echo "See git-pull(1) for details."
	else

-- 
Matthieu