Re: [PATCH 4/6] Documentation/git-merge.txt: improve short description in NAME

[Jeff King <peff@peff.net>]

On Wed, Oct 05, 2016 at 05:46:22PM +0300, sorganov@gmail.com wrote:

> diff --git a/Documentation/git-merge.txt b/Documentation/git-merge.txt
> index 216d2f4..cc0329d 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-merge.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/git-merge.txt
> @@ -3,7 +3,8 @@ git-merge(1)
>  
>  NAME
>  ----
> -git-merge - Join two or more development histories together
> +
> +git-merge - Merge one or more branches to the current branch

I wonder if we should be more clear that you don't have to merge a
branch; you can merge any commit. I do agree that the original was
unnecessarily general. And I think "the current branch" is accurate
(technically it can be to a detached HEAD, but that is pedantry that
doesn't need to make it into the synopsis).

So maybe "Merge one or more commits into the current branch".  I guess
that is a bit vague, too. It is really "commit tips" or "lines of
development" that we are merging. Bringing them in of course brings in
many commits, but the "or more" there is meant to hint at multi-parent
merges.

So perhaps "one or more branches", while not completely accurate, is the
best we can do. I dunno.

-Peff