Re: [PATCH] Clarify the git-branch documentation of default start-point

Martin Nordholts venit, vidit, dixit 18.06.2009 08:04:

On Wed, 2009-06-17 at 22:48 -0700, Junio C Hamano wrote:

quoted

Martin Nordholts [off-list ref] writes:

quoted

-	is omitted, the current branch is assumed.
+	is omitted, the current branch is assumed.  Note that checking
+	out a remote branch does not make it the current branch.  If a
+	remote branch is desired as start-point it must be an explicity
+	specified.

[...] "it" in the second new sentence is unclear.

You probably wanted to answer "If I wanted to have _my own 'next' branch_
that tracks 'next' from the remote, what should I do?"

What I am trying to clarify is that a remote branch will never be the
default for the start-point argument to git-branch, so if someone wants
a remote branch as start-point, then the branch must be explicitly
specified.

For this, the first sentence might actually be enough. If a remote
branch never is the current branch, and if start-point defaults to the
current branch, then the start-point can never default to a remote
branch.

Should we just stick to the first sentence then perhaps?

I think your usage of "start-point" is a bit unfortunate. What's a
start-point? It's the commit where a branch forks off, or more
precisely: the commit which the new branch's head is set to initially.

So, the start-point is never a branch! Or else it would be a "moving
target".

If you specify the start-point using a branch name it's really the
branch's current head which is used as the start-point.

BUT: If you specify the start-point using a branch name the DWIMery can
kick in and figure out a good default for the upstream branch (see --track).

Michael