Re: [PATCH v2 1/5] doc: glossary: add root ref and clarify pseudorefs

From
Junio C Hamano <hidden>
Date
2026-11-03 18:30:27
Reply to
Patrick Steinhardt, 2026-11-03
Patrick Steinhardt [off-list ref] writes:
I'm still not entirely convinced by this change, as it only focusses on
the difference in storage. How about this instead:

    [[def_pseudoref]]pseudoref::
        A name that can be used like a <<def_ref,ref>> to refer to an
        <<def_object,object>>, but that has different semantics: it can
        record more than one object ID and may carry additional metadata.
        In contrast to root refs, pseudorefs are therefore not stored or
        handled by the ref backend. They can be passed to commands like
        linkgit:git-log[1] or linkgit:git-diff[1], but cannot be written
        by linkgit:git-update-ref[1] or listed by
        linkgit:git-for-each-ref[1].
Between the two I would prefer yours.  I would replace "different"
with "additional", because a pseudoref can be used as the name of
the first object it contains in a fully compatible way as any other
refs, I want to avoid "different" that implies "there are additional
things it can do but there are things it cannot do" Venn diagram.

Then replace "carry additional" with "carry extra", just to avoid
repetitions of "additional" due to the earlier change.
Thread (45 messages) 45 messages, 4 authors, last reply 1d ago
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