[PATCH] Don't create the $GIT_DIR/branches directory on init

Git itself does not even look at this directory. Any tools that
actually needs it should create it itself.

Signed-off-by: Robin Rosenberg <redacted>
---
 templates/branches-- |    1 -
 1 files changed, 0 insertions(+), 1 deletions(-)
 delete mode 100644 templates/branches--

Shawn and other wants to stop JGit from creating this directory on
init with the motivation that newer Git version doesn't create it
anymore. This patch would make that assertion true.

-- robin

diff --git a/templates/branches-- b/templates/branches--
deleted file mode 100644
index fae8870..0000000
--- a/templates/branches--
+++ /dev/null

@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-: this is just to ensure the directory exists.

-- 
1.6.5.2.102.g1f8896

Robin Rosenberg wrote:

Git itself does not even look at this directory.

This contradicts the git-fetch manpage though: from urls-remotes.txt,
it includes

  The name of one of the following can be used instead
  of a URL as `<repository>` argument:

  * a remote in the git configuration file: `$GIT_DIR/config`,
  * a file in the `$GIT_DIR/remotes` directory, or
  * a file in the `$GIT_DIR/branches` directory.

(and a longer explanation of what they need to look like).

So which one is wrong?

-- 
Thomas Rast
trast@{inf,student}.ethz.ch

lördag 31 oktober 2009 10:11:29 skrev  Thomas Rast:

Robin Rosenberg wrote:

quoted

Git itself does not even look at this directory.

This contradicts the git-fetch manpage though: from urls-remotes.txt,
it includes

  The name of one of the following can be used instead
  of a URL as `<repository>` argument:

  * a remote in the git configuration file: `$GIT_DIR/config`,
  * a file in the `$GIT_DIR/remotes` directory, or
  * a file in the `$GIT_DIR/branches` directory.

(and a longer explanation of what they need to look like).

So which one is wrong?

I, and a few other people, it seems. Seems the purpose of these
files is a bit different. Git does look in these directories (both)
when fetch is run. Seems remotes is not created by init though.

-- robin

Robin Rosenberg [off-list ref] wrote:

quoted

  * a remote in the git configuration file: `$GIT_DIR/config`,
  * a file in the `$GIT_DIR/remotes` directory, or
  * a file in the `$GIT_DIR/branches` directory.

I, and a few other people, it seems. Seems the purpose of these
files is a bit different. Git does look in these directories (both)
when fetch is run. Seems remotes is not created by init though.

Since remotes isn't created by init, branches shouldn't be either.
Cogito is dead, and that was the main customer who wanted branches
to be present in a repository.

I think its safe to remove branches from the template repository
and stop creating it, but continue to read from branches and
remotes if they exist.

We might want to consider dropping support for them in 1.7.0
or 1.8.0, because any new tools largely focus on config.
E.g. git-remote probably can't edit branches or remotes, git-gui
probably doesn't use them, JGit doesn't use them.

-- 
Shawn.