Re: Some advanced index playing

Alan Chandler wrote:

With all the discussion about the index file in the last few days I would have 
thought that this issue would have come up.  But I don't think it has.

I have been editing a set of files to make a commit, and after editing each 
one had done a git update-index.

At this point I am just about to commit when I realise that one of the files 
has changes in it that really ought to be a separate commit. 

So effectively, I want to do one of three things

a) git-commit <that-file>

Except I can't because there is a safety valve that prevents this and there is 
no force option.

I do wonder what this safety valve is for, and why it acts also if
index version is equal to working directory version...

b) Revert the index entry for that file back to the previous HEAD commit 
point, whilst leaving the edits in the working tree, so that I can then 
commit without that one file.

I can't find a command to do that.  The nearest seems to be 
git-update-index --remove, but the manual says that it will not do anything 
if the file still exists.

There is "git update-index --force-remove <that-file>". Currently there
is no "git reset -- <that-file>", but you can revert index entry to the
one in HEAD using
  $ git ls-tree HEAD -- <that-file> | git update-index --index-info

And you can always try "git-rm + git-add".
 

c) Revert the entire index back to the state it was at the last commit so I 
can selectively add back in the files that I have editted.

The command to do that seems to be

git-read-tree HEAD 

No, the command for that is just "git reset" (which means 
"git reset --mixed HEAD"), and touches HEAD and index but not working
directory

What happened to the text written here

  http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=git&m=116406699903565&w=2

    "[DRAFT 2] Branching and merging with git"

I thought this might be a place to put something like this, but having just 
updated my version of git from source, it doesn't seem to have been put in to 
git anywhere yet.

linux@horizon.com, perhaps you should send this text in the form of patch
creating Documentation/tutorial-3.txt file?
-- 
Jakub Narebski
Warsaw, Poland
ShadeHawk on #git