Re: [PATCH] git mv: do not keep slash in `git mv dir non-existing-dir/`

[Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>]

Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de> writes:

> When calling `rename("dir", "non-existing-dir/")` on Linux, it silently
> succeeds, stripping the trailing slash of the second argument.
>
> This is all good and dandy but this behavior disagrees with the specs at
>
> http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/functions/rename.html
>
> that state clearly regarding the 2nd parameter (called `new`):
>
> 	If the `new` argument does not resolve to an existing directory
> 	entry for a file of type directory and the `new` argument
> 	contains at least one non- <slash> character and ends with one
> 	or more trailing <slash> characters after all symbolic links
> 	have been processed, `rename()` shall fail.

I agree with all of the above.  But

> Of course, we would like `git mv dir non-existing-dir/` to succeed (and
> rename the directory "dir" to "non-existing-dir").

I do not think I want that.  When I say "mv A B/", I want it to fail
if I made a typo for B; the trailing slash after B is an explicit
statement "I expect B to exist and I want A to appear at B/A".

Current Git behaviour on Linux seems to allow "git mv dir no-such-dir/"
but "dir" is renamed to "no-such-dir", which fails two expectations,
and I think this is broken.  If Windows port does not share this
breakage, that is a good thing.  We should fix Git behaviour on Linux
instead, I would think.