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index 8fb5d889e5757ad5c25717c4d9ed0a3ef378f794..29e5929db22257346a2bed16cbd5ca6531698676 100644 (file)
--- a/Documentation/gitcli.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gitcli.txt
DESCRIPTION
-----------
DESCRIPTION
-----------
-This manual describes best practice in how to use git CLI. Here are
-the rules that you should follow when you are scripting git:
+This manual describes the convention used throughout git CLI.
+
+Many commands take revisions (most often "commits", but sometimes
+"tree-ish", depending on the context and command) and paths as their
+arguments. Here are the rules:
+
+ * Revisions come first and then paths.
+ E.g. in `git diff v1.0 v2.0 arch/x86 include/asm-x86`,
+ `v1.0` and `v2.0` are revisions and `arch/x86` and `include/asm-x86`
+ are paths.
+
+ * When an argument can be misunderstood as either a revision or a path,
+ they can be disambiguated by placing `\--` between them.
+ E.g. `git diff \-- HEAD` is, "I have a file called HEAD in my work
+ tree. Please show changes between the version I staged in the index
+ and what I have in the work tree for that file". not "show difference
+ between the HEAD commit and the work tree as a whole". You can say
+ `git diff HEAD \--` to ask for the latter.
+
+ * Without disambiguating `\--`, git makes a reasonable guess, but errors
+ out and asking you to disambiguate when ambiguous. E.g. if you have a
+ file called HEAD in your work tree, `git diff HEAD` is ambiguous, and
+ you have to say either `git diff HEAD \--` or `git diff \-- HEAD` to
+ disambiguate.
+
+When writing a script that is expected to handle random user-input, it is
+a good practice to make it explicit which arguments are which by placing
+disambiguating `\--` at appropriate places.
+
+Here are the rules regarding the "flags" that you should follow when you are
+scripting git:
* it's preferred to use the non dashed form of git commands, which means that
you should prefer `"git foo"` to `"git-foo"`.
* it's preferred to use the non dashed form of git commands, which means that
you should prefer `"git foo"` to `"git-foo"`.
if you happen to have a file called `HEAD` in the work tree.
if you happen to have a file called `HEAD` in the work tree.
-ENHANCED CLI
-------------
+ENHANCED OPTION PARSER
+----------------------
From the git 1.5.4 series and further, many git commands (not all of them at the
time of the writing though) come with an enhanced option parser.
From the git 1.5.4 series and further, many git commands (not all of them at the
time of the writing though) come with an enhanced option parser.
----------------------------
----------------------------
+NOTES ON FREQUENTLY CONFUSED OPTIONS
+------------------------------------
+
+Many commands that can work on files in the working tree
+and/or in the index can take `--cached` and/or `--index`
+options. Sometimes people incorrectly think that, because
+the index was originally called cache, these two are
+synonyms. They are *not* -- these two options mean very
+different things.
+
+ * The `--cached` option is used to ask a command that
+ usually works on files in the working tree to *only* work
+ with the index. For example, `git grep`, when used
+ without a commit to specify from which commit to look for
+ strings in, usually works on files in the working tree,
+ but with the `--cached` option, it looks for strings in
+ the index.
+
+ * The `--index` option is used to ask a command that
+ usually works on files in the working tree to *also*
+ affect the index. For example, `git stash apply` usually
+ merges changes recorded in a stash to the working tree,
+ but with the `--index` option, it also merges changes to
+ the index as well.
+
+`git apply` command can be used with `--cached` and
+`--index` (but not at the same time). Usually the command
+only affects the files in the working tree, but with
+`--index`, it patches both the files and their index
+entries, and with `--cached`, it modifies only the index
+entries.
+
+See also http://marc.info/?l=git&m=116563135620359 and
+http://marc.info/?l=git&m=119150393620273 for further
+information.
+
Documentation
-------------
Documentation
-------------
-Documentation by Pierre Habouzit.
+Documentation by Pierre Habouzit and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
GIT
---
GIT
---