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

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.