[PATCH] Documentation: Define symref and update HEAD description
From: Petr Baudis <hidden>
Date: 2016-08-11 19:26:58
Subsystem:
documentation, the rest · Maintainers:
Jonathan Corbet, Linus Torvalds
HEAD was still described as a symlink instead of a symref. Signed-off-by: Petr Baudis <redacted> --- Documentation/glossary.txt | 7 +++++++ Documentation/repository-layout.txt | 14 +++++++++----- 2 files changed, 16 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/glossary.txt b/Documentation/glossary.txt
index 7e560b0..894883d 100644
--- a/Documentation/glossary.txt
+++ b/Documentation/glossary.txt@@ -282,6 +282,13 @@ SCM:: SHA1:: Synonym for object name. +symref:: + Symbolic reference: instead of containing the SHA1 id itself, it + is of the format 'ref: refs/some/thing' and when referenced, it + recursively dereferences to this reference. 'HEAD' is a prime + example of a symref. Symbolic references are manipulated with + the gitlink:git-symbolic-ref[1] command. + topic branch:: A regular git branch that is used by a developer to identify a conceptual line of development. Since branches
diff --git a/Documentation/repository-layout.txt b/Documentation/repository-layout.txt
index 275d18b..fd9f406 100644
--- a/Documentation/repository-layout.txt
+++ b/Documentation/repository-layout.txt@@ -70,12 +70,16 @@ refs/tags/`name`:: object, or a tag object that points at a commit object). HEAD:: - A symlink of the form `refs/heads/'name'` to point at - the current branch, if exists. It does not mean much if - the repository is not associated with any working tree + A symref (see glossary) to the `refs/heads/` namespace + describing the currently active branch. It does not mean + much if the repository is not associated with any working tree (i.e. a 'bare' repository), but a valid git repository - *must* have such a symlink here. It is legal if the - named branch 'name' does not (yet) exist. + *must* have the HEAD file; some porcelains may use it to + guess the designated "default" branch of the repository + (usually 'master'). It is legal if the named branch + 'name' does not (yet) exist. In some legacy setups, it is + a symbolic link instead of a symref, but this has been + deprecated long ago. branches::