Re: [PATCH] fast-import: Allow filemodify to set the root

[David Michael Barr <david.barr@cordelta.com>]

Hi,

>> diff --git a/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt b/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt
>> index 966ba4f..90a4666 100644
>> --- a/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt
>> +++ b/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt
>> @@ -524,6 +524,9 @@ start with double quote (`"`).
>> If an `LF` or double quote must be encoded into `<path>` shell-style
>> quoting should be used, e.g. `"path/with\n and \" in it"`.
>> 
>> +Additionally, in `040000` mode, `<path>` may also be an empty string
>> +(`""`) to specify the root of the tree.
>> +
>> The value of `<path>` must be in canonical form. That is it must not:
>> 
>> * contain an empty directory component (e.g. `foo//bar` is invalid),
> 
> Thanks for keeping documentation up to date :)
> 
> Although, I think the documentation should be a bit more precise about
> what "specifying the root of the tree" means for a 'filemodify' command
> and its implication on performance (i.e. why there's actually this
> special case in the syntax)

The way I perceive it, the patch simply removes the special treatment of
the root, allowing it to be modified just as any other path.
The only property that distinguishes the root from other paths is that the
endpoint must be a tree.