Re: Git reset --hard with staged changes

["Pierre-François CLEMENT" <likeyn@gmail.com>]

2014-06-09 16:04 GMT+02:00 David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>:
> Pierre-François CLEMENT <likeyn@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Someone pointed out on the "Git for human beings" Google group
>> (https://groups.google.com/d/topic/git-users/27_FxIV_100/discussion)
>> that using git-reset's hard mode when having staged untracked files
>> simply deletes them from the working dir.
>>
>> Since git-reset specifically doesn't touch untracked files, one could
>> expect having staged untracked files reset to their previous
>> "untracked" state rather than being deleted.
>>
>> Could this be a bug or a missing feature? Or if it isn't, can someone
>> explain what we got wrong?
>
> git reset --keep maybe?
>
> In a work dir and index without modifications, I expect
>
> git apply --index ...
> git reset --hard
>
> to remove any files that git apply created.  It would not do so using
> your proposal.  I agree that it seems a bit of a borderline, but I
> consider it better that once a file _is_ tracked, git reset --hard will
> first physically remove it before untracking it.
>
> --
> David Kastrup

Hm, I didn't think of "git apply --index"... Makes sense for this
special use, but I'm not sure about the other use cases. Consider this
scenario:

You create a new (untracked) file.
You use git-reset's hard mode to go one commit back, the new
(untracked) file's still there.
You add/stage that new file.
You use git-reset's hard mode again to go one commit back, and the new
untracked file you just staged gets deleted.

Also, according to Git-scm
(http://git-scm.com/book/en/Git-Basics-Recording-Changes-to-the-Repository):

"Tracked files are files that were in the last snapshot [...].
Untracked files are everything else."

So it seems to me like staged untracked files shouldn't be considered
as tracked files, and thus shouldn't be removed. Or maybe, git-reset's
hard mode should always delete everything including untracked files?
It would also make sense, given the numerous modes it has.

--
Pierre-François CLEMENT
Application developer at Upcast Social