Re: [PATCH v6] fetch-pack: always allow fetching of literal SHA1s

Jeff King [off-list ref] writes:

On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 01:46:48PM -0700, Jonathan Tan wrote:

quoted

Change from v5: used "ensure_tip_oids_initialized" function instead.
This removes some of the muddiness (e.g. with newlist being modified
after the function).

I don't think it really improves the muddiness. You are still calling
the ensure function each time through the loop with a potentially
modified list, but it doesn't actually look at the list after the first
time. So the muddy part is still there.

I think rather than changing the code, you'd do better with a comment
like:

  /*
   * Note that this only looks at the ref lists the first time
   * it's called. This works out in filter_refs() because even
   * though it may add to "newlist" between calls, the additions
   * will always be for oids that are already in the set.
   */

At which point the original all-in-one function is probably fine (as it
avoids the "return 1 just to join the &&-chain" bit).

Yes.  I agree that the in-code comment is the best approach to the
"muddy combination of 'grabbing it for the first time' and 'the
thing that is grabbed mutates in the loop'" confusion.