* [PATCH 1/2] gitfaq: cleanup gitfaq.txt
2020-04-06 18:12 [PATCH 0/2] Add more issues in gitfaq Shourya Shukla
@ 2020-04-06 18:12 ` Shourya Shukla
2020-04-06 19:06 ` Junio C Hamano
2020-04-06 23:46 ` Junio C Hamano
2020-04-06 18:12 ` [PATCH 2/2] gitfaq: append the 'Common Issues' section Shourya Shukla
1 sibling, 2 replies; 10+ messages in thread
From: Shourya Shukla @ 2020-04-06 18:12 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: git; +Cc: gitster, sandals, emilyshaffer, martin.agren, Shourya Shukla
The file contained a lot of whitespace errors as well as some
grammatical mistakes. Amend them.
Signed-off-by: Shourya Shukla <shouryashukla.oo@gmail.com>
---
Documentation/gitfaq.txt | 110 +++++++++++++++++++--------------------
1 file changed, 55 insertions(+), 55 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/gitfaq.txt b/Documentation/gitfaq.txt
index 1cf83df118..3ca16b1092 100644
--- a/Documentation/gitfaq.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gitfaq.txt
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ Configuration
What should I put in `user.name`?::
You should put your personal name, generally a form using a given name
and family name. For example, the current maintainer of Git uses "Junio
- C Hamano". This will be the name portion that is stored in every commit
+ C Hamano". This will be the name portion that is stored in every commit
you make.
+
This configuration doesn't have any effect on authenticating to remote services;
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ for that, see `credential.username` in linkgit:git-config[1].
[[http-postbuffer]]
What does `http.postBuffer` really do?::
This option changes the size of the buffer that Git uses when pushing
- data to a remote over HTTP or HTTPS. If the data is larger than this
+ data to a remote over HTTP or HTTPS. If the data is larger than this
size, libcurl, which handles the HTTP support for Git, will use chunked
transfer encoding since it isn't known ahead of time what the size of
the pushed data will be.
@@ -40,15 +40,15 @@ What does `http.postBuffer` really do?::
Leaving this value at the default size is fine unless you know that either the
remote server or a proxy in the middle doesn't support HTTP/1.1 (which
introduced the chunked transfer encoding) or is known to be broken with chunked
-data. This is often (erroneously) suggested as a solution for generic push
+data. This is often (erroneously) suggested as a solution for generic push
problems, but since almost every server and proxy supports at least HTTP/1.1,
-raising this value usually doesn't solve most push problems. A server or proxy
+raising this value usually doesn't solve most push problems. A server or proxy
that didn't correctly support HTTP/1.1 and chunked transfer encoding wouldn't be
that useful on the Internet today, since it would break lots of traffic.
+
Note that increasing this value will increase the memory used on every relevant
push that Git does over HTTP or HTTPS, since the entire buffer is allocated
-regardless of whether or not it is all used. Thus, it's best to leave it at the
+regardless of whether or not it is all used. Thus, it's best to leave it at the
default unless you are sure you need a different value.
[[configure-editor]]
@@ -56,13 +56,13 @@ How do I configure a different editor?::
If you haven't specified an editor specifically for Git, it will by default
use the editor you've configured using the `VISUAL` or `EDITOR` environment
variables, or if neither is specified, the system default (which is usually
- `vi`). Since some people find `vi` difficult to use or prefer a different
+ `vi`). Since some people find `vi` difficult to use or prefer a different
editor, it may be desirable to change the editor used.
+
If you want to configure a general editor for most programs which need one, you
can edit your shell configuration (e.g., `~/.bashrc` or `~/.zshenv`) to contain
a line setting the `EDITOR` or `VISUAL` environment variable to an appropriate
-value. For example, if you prefer the editor `nano`, then you could write the
+value. For example, if you prefer the editor `nano`, then you could write the
following:
+
----
@@ -70,15 +70,15 @@ export VISUAL=nano
----
+
If you want to configure an editor specifically for Git, you can either set the
-`core.editor` configuration value or the `GIT_EDITOR` environment variable. You
+`core.editor` configuration value or the `GIT_EDITOR` environment variable. You
can see linkgit:git-var[1] for details on the order in which these options are
consulted.
+
Note that in all cases, the editor value will be passed to the shell, so any
-arguments containing spaces should be appropriately quoted. Additionally, if
+arguments containing spaces should be appropriately quoted. Additionally, if
your editor normally detaches from the terminal when invoked, you should specify
it with an argument that makes it not do that, or else Git will not see any
-changes. An example of a configuration addressing both of these issues on
+changes. An example of a configuration addressing both of these issues on
Windows would be the configuration `"C:\Program Files\Vim\gvim.exe" --nofork`,
which quotes the filename with spaces and specifies the `--nofork` option to
avoid backgrounding the process.
@@ -89,11 +89,11 @@ Credentials
[[http-credentials]]
How do I specify my credentials when pushing over HTTP?::
The easiest way to do this is to use a credential helper via the
- `credential.helper` configuration. Most systems provide a standard
- choice to integrate with the system credential manager. For example,
+ `credential.helper` configuration. Most systems provide a standard
+ choice to integrate with the system credential manager. For example,
Git for Windows provides the `wincred` credential manager, macOS has the
`osxkeychain` credential manager, and Unix systems with a standard
- desktop environment can use the `libsecret` credential manager. All of
+ desktop environment can use the `libsecret` credential manager. All of
these store credentials in an encrypted store to keep your passwords or
tokens secure.
+
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ in your home directory, or the `cache` credential manager, which does not
permanently store your credentials, but does prevent you from being prompted for
them for a certain period of time.
+
-You can also just enter your password when prompted. While it is possible to
+You can also just enter your password when prompted. While it is possible to
place the password (which must be percent-encoded) in the URL, this is not
particularly secure and can lead to accidental exposure of credentials, so it is
not recommended.
@@ -113,8 +113,8 @@ How do I read a password or token from an environment variable?::
shell command that produces the credential protocol on standard output.
This is useful when passing credentials into a container, for example.
+
-Such a shell command can be specified by starting the option value with an
-exclamation point. If your password or token were stored in the `GIT_TOKEN`,
+Such a shell command can be specified by putting an exclamation point before
+the option. If your password or token were stored in the `GIT_TOKEN`,
you could run the following command to set your credential helper:
+
----
@@ -125,10 +125,10 @@ $ git config credential.helper \
[[http-reset-credentials]]
How do I change the password or token I've saved in my credential manager?::
Usually, if the password or token is invalid, Git will erase it and
- prompt for a new one. However, there are times when this doesn't always
- happen. To change the password or token, you can erase the existing
- credentials and then Git will prompt for new ones. To erase
- credentials, use a syntax like the following (substituting your username
+ prompt for a new one. However, there are times when this doesn't always
+ happen. To change the password or token, you can erase the existing
+ credentials and then Git will prompt for new ones. To erase credentials,
+ use a syntax like the following (substituting your username
and the hostname):
+
----
@@ -138,12 +138,12 @@ $ echo url=https://author@git.example.org | git credential reject
[[multiple-accounts-http]]
How do I use multiple accounts with the same hosting provider using HTTP?::
Usually the easiest way to distinguish between these accounts is to use
- the username in the URL. For example, if you have the accounts `author`
+ the username in the URL. For example, if you have the accounts `author`
and `committer` on `git.example.org`, you can use the URLs
https://author@git.example.org/org1/project1.git and
- https://committer@git.example.org/org2/project2.git. This way, when you
+ https://committer@git.example.org/org2/project2.git. This way, when you
use a credential helper, it will automatically try to look up the
- correct credentials for your account. If you already have a remote set
+ correct credentials for your account. If you already have a remote set
up, you can change the URL with something like `git remote set-url
origin https://author@git.example.org/org1/project1.git` (see
linkgit:git-remote[1] for details).
@@ -151,17 +151,17 @@ How do I use multiple accounts with the same hosting provider using HTTP?::
[[multiple-accounts-ssh]]
How do I use multiple accounts with the same hosting provider using SSH?::
With most hosting providers that support SSH, a single key pair uniquely
- identifies a user. Therefore, to use multiple accounts, it's necessary
- to create a key pair for each account. If you're using a reasonably
+ identifies a user. Therefore, to use multiple accounts, it's necessary
+ to create a key pair for each account. If you're using a reasonably
modern OpenSSH version, you can create a new key pair with something
- like `ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_committer`. You can then
+ like `ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_committer`. You can then
register the public key (in this case, `~/.ssh/id_committer.pub`; note
the `.pub`) with the hosting provider.
+
Most hosting providers use a single SSH account for pushing; that is, all users
-push to the `git` account (e.g., `git@git.example.org`). If that's the case for
+push to the `git` account (e.g., `git@git.example.org`). If that's the case for
your provider, you can set up multiple aliases in SSH to make it clear which key
-pair to use. For example, you could write something like the following in
+pair to use. For example, you could write something like the following in
`~/.ssh/config`, substituting the proper private key file:
+
----
@@ -189,29 +189,29 @@ Common Issues
-------------
[[last-commit-amend]]
-I've made a mistake in the last commit. How do I change it?::
+I've made a mistake in the last commit. How do I change it?::
You can make the appropriate change to your working tree, run `git add
<file>` or `git rm <file>`, as appropriate, to stage it, and then `git
- commit --amend`. Your change will be included in the commit, and you'll
+ commit --amend`. Your change will be included in the commit, and you'll
be prompted to edit the commit message again; if you wish to use the
original message verbatim, you can use the `--no-edit` option to `git
commit` in addition, or just save and quit when your editor opens.
[[undo-previous-change]]
-I've made a change with a bug and it's been included in the main branch. How should I undo it?::
- The usual way to deal with this is to use `git revert`. This preserves
+I've made a change with a bug and it's been included in the main branch. How should I undo it?::
+ The usual way to deal with this is to use `git revert`. This preserves
the history that the original change was made and was a valuable
contribution, but also introduces a new commit that undoes those changes
- because the original had a problem. The commit message of the revert
+ because the original had a problem. The commit message of the revert
indicates the commit which was reverted and is usually edited to include
an explanation as to why the revert was made.
[[ignore-tracked-files]]
-How do I ignore changes to a tracked file?::
- Git doesn't provide a way to do this. The reason is that if Git needs
+How do I ignore changes made to a tracked file?::
+ Git doesn't provide a way to do this. The reason is that if Git needs
to overwrite this file, such as during a checkout, it doesn't know
whether the changes to the file are precious and should be kept, or
- whether they are irrelevant and can safely be destroyed. Therefore, it
+ whether they are irrelevant and can safely be destroyed. Therefore, it
has to take the safe route and always preserve them.
+
It's tempting to try to use certain features of `git update-index`, namely the
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ purpose and shouldn't be used this way.
+
If your goal is to modify a configuration file, it can often be helpful to have
a file checked into the repository which is a template or set of defaults which
-can then be copied alongside and modified as appropriate. This second, modified
+can then be copied alongside and modified as appropriate. This second, modified
file is usually ignored to prevent accidentally committing it.
Hooks
@@ -230,12 +230,12 @@ Hooks
How do I use hooks to prevent users from making certain changes?::
The only safe place to make these changes is on the remote repository
(i.e., the Git server), usually in the `pre-receive` hook or in a
- continuous integration (CI) system. These are the locations in which
+ continuous integration (CI) system. These are the locations in which
policy can be enforced effectively.
+
It's common to try to use `pre-commit` hooks (or, for commit messages,
`commit-msg` hooks) to check these things, which is great if you're working as a
-solo developer and want the tooling to help you. However, using hooks on a
+solo developer and want the tooling to help you. However, using hooks on a
developer machine is not effective as a policy control because a user can bypass
these hooks with `--no-verify` without being noticed (among various other ways).
Git assumes that the user is in control of their local repositories and doesn't
@@ -251,24 +251,24 @@ Cross-Platform Issues
[[windows-text-binary]]
I'm on Windows and my text files are detected as binary.::
- Git works best when you store text files as UTF-8. Many programs on
+ Git works best when you store text files as UTF-8. Many programs on
Windows support UTF-8, but some do not and only use the little-endian
- UTF-16 format, which Git detects as binary. If you can't use UTF-8 with
+ UTF-16 format, which Git detects as binary. If you can't use UTF-8 with
your programs, you can specify a working tree encoding that indicates
which encoding your files should be checked out with, while still
- storing these files as UTF-8 in the repository. This allows tools like
+ storing these files as UTF-8 in the repository. This allows tools like
linkgit:git-diff[1] to work as expected, while still allowing your tools
to work.
+
To do so, you can specify a linkgit:gitattributes[5] pattern with the
-`working-tree-encoding` attribute. For example, the following pattern sets all
+`working-tree-encoding` attribute. For example, the following pattern sets all
C files to use UTF-16LE-BOM, which is a common encoding on Windows:
+
----
*.c working-tree-encoding=UTF-16LE-BOM
----
+
-You will need to run `git add --renormalize` to have this take effect. Note
+You will need to run `git add --renormalize` to have this take effect. Note
that if you are making these changes on a project that is used across platforms,
you'll probably want to make it in a per-user configuration file or in the one
in `$GIT_DIR/info/attributes`, since making it in a `.gitattributes` file in the
@@ -279,13 +279,13 @@ and see linkgit:gitattributes[5] for more information about attribute files.
[[windows-diff-control-m]]
I'm on Windows and git diff shows my files as having a `^M` at the end.::
- By default, Git expects files to be stored with Unix line endings. As such,
+ By default, Git expects files to be stored with Unix line endings. As such,
the carriage return (`^M`) that is part of a Windows line ending is shown
- because it is considered to be trailing whitespace. Git defaults to showing
+ because it is considered to be trailing whitespace. Git defaults to showing
trailing whitespace only on new lines, not existing ones.
+
You can store the files in the repository with Unix line endings and convert
-them automatically to your platform's line endings. To do that, set the
+them automatically to your platform's line endings. To do that, set the
configuration option `core.eol` to `native` and see the following entry for
information about how to configure files as text or binary.
+
@@ -295,28 +295,28 @@ don't wish to remove the carriage returns from your line endings.
[[recommended-storage-settings]]
What's the recommended way to store files in Git?::
While Git can store and handle any file of any type, there are some
- settings that work better than others. In general, we recommend that
+ settings that work better than others. In general, we recommend that
text files be stored in UTF-8 without a byte-order mark (BOM) with LF
- (Unix-style) endings. We also recommend the use of UTF-8 (again,
- without BOM) in commit messages. These are the settings that work best
+ (Unix-style) endings. We also recommend the use of UTF-8 (again,
+ without BOM) in commit messages. These are the settings that work best
across platforms and with tools such as `git diff` and `git merge`.
+
Additionally, if you have a choice between storage formats that are text based
or non-text based, we recommend storing files in the text format and, if
-necessary, transforming them into the other format. For example, a text-based
+necessary, transforming them into the other format. For example, a text-based
SQL dump with one record per line will work much better for diffing and merging
-than an actual database file. Similarly, text-based formats such as Markdown
+than an actual database file. Similarly, text-based formats such as Markdown
and AsciiDoc will work better than binary formats such as Microsoft Word and
PDF.
+
Similarly, storing binary dependencies (e.g., shared libraries or JAR files) or
-build products in the repository is generally not recommended. Dependencies and
+build products in the repository is generally not recommended. Dependencies and
build products are best stored on an artifact or package server with only
references, URLs, and hashes stored in the repository.
+
We also recommend setting a linkgit:gitattributes[5] file to explicitly mark
-which files are text and which are binary. If you want Git to guess, you can
-set the attribute `text=auto`. For example, the following might be appropriate
+which files are text and which are binary. If you want Git to guess, you can
+set the attribute `text=auto`. For example, the following might be appropriate
in some projects:
+
----
--
2.20.1
^ permalink raw reply related [flat|nested] 10+ messages in thread
* [PATCH 2/2] gitfaq: append the 'Common Issues' section
2020-04-06 18:12 [PATCH 0/2] Add more issues in gitfaq Shourya Shukla
2020-04-06 18:12 ` [PATCH 1/2] gitfaq: cleanup gitfaq.txt Shourya Shukla
@ 2020-04-06 18:12 ` Shourya Shukla
2020-04-06 19:28 ` Junio C Hamano
1 sibling, 1 reply; 10+ messages in thread
From: Shourya Shukla @ 2020-04-06 18:12 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: git; +Cc: gitster, sandals, emilyshaffer, martin.agren, Shourya Shukla
Add more issues and their respective solutions in the 'Common Issues'
section of gitfaq.
Signed-off-by: Shourya Shukla <shouryashukla.oo@gmail.com>
---
Documentation/gitfaq.txt | 72 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 72 insertions(+)
diff --git a/Documentation/gitfaq.txt b/Documentation/gitfaq.txt
index 3ca16b1092..ccc14774ba 100644
--- a/Documentation/gitfaq.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gitfaq.txt
@@ -223,6 +223,78 @@ a file checked into the repository which is a template or set of defaults which
can then be copied alongside and modified as appropriate. This second, modified
file is usually ignored to prevent accidentally committing it.
+[[rebasing-and-merging]]
+How do I know when to merge or rebase?::
+ Rebasing and merging two entirely different concepts with different utiilites.
+ In Git terms, rebasing means to place changes made in one branch over another branch
+ (called base, hence the term rebase). The commit history of the branch wanting to rebase
+ get placed over the branch on the receiving end and it appears as if those changes took
+ place in the receiving branch itself. Merging, as the name suggests, merges the latest
+ commit of one branch onto the recent branch, making this combination appear as one separate
+ commit.
++
+As an additional tip, one can use interactive rebasing, `git rebase -i`, to perform rebasing
+using a text editor GUI (the value of $GIT_EDITOR). Interactive rebase is an excellent utility
+to perform various functions such as editing commit messages, dropping/squashing commits, editing
+commits, etc. in one package.
+
+[[files-in-.gitignore-are-tracked]]
+I asked Git to ignore various files, yet they show up as changes in my staging area::
+ One uses `.gitignore` to ignore files from getting tracked in the working tree. This ignores
+ the aforementioned files for the whole lifetime of the project unless they area removed from
+ the `.gitignore`. But, `.gitignore` will only ignore the files which were not a part of the
+ repository when they were mentioned in the `.gitignore`. Hence, addition of a file to `.gitignore`
+ after it was added to the working tree will have no effect and Git will keep tracking them.
+ To prevent this from happening, one has to use `git rm --cached <file>` to remove the file
+ from the staging area(i.e. the cache) and not from the repository.
+
+[[changing-remote-of-the-repository]]
+I want to change the remote of my repository. How do I do that?::
+ A remote is an identifier for a location to which Git pushes your changes as well as fetches
+ any new changes(if any). There might be different circumstances in which one might need to change
+ the remote:
+ 1. One might want to update the url of their remote; in that case, the command to use is,
+ `git remote set-url <name> <newurl>`.
+
+ 2. One might want to have two different remotes for fetching and pushing; this generally
+ happens in case of triangular workflows. In this case, it is advisable to create a
+ separate remote just for fetching/pushing. But, another way can be to change the push
+ url using the `--push` option in the `git set-url` command.
+
+[[fetching-and-pulling]]
+How do I know if I want to do a fetch or a pull?::
+ A fetch brings in the latest changes made upstream(i.e. the remote repository we are working on).
+ This allows us to inspect the changes made upstream and integrate all those changes(iff we want to)
+ or only cherry pick certain changes. Fetching does not have any immediate effects on the local
+ repository.
+
+ A pull is a wrapper for a fetch and merge. This means that doing a `git pull` will not only fetch the
+ changes made upstream but integrate them as well with our local repository. The merge may go smoothly
+ or have merge conflicts depending on the case. A pull does not allow you to review any changes made
+ upstream but rather merge those changes on their own.
++
+This is the reason why it is sometimes advised to fetch the changes first and then merge them accordingly
+because not every change might be of utility to the user.
+
+[[checking-out]]
+What is checking out a commit/branch? How do I perform one?::
+ In Git terminology, checking out means updating the current working tree with a another commit or
+ even a separate tree(which would translate to a branch). This means that if I were to:
+ 1. Go to another commit, to lets say modify stuff in that commit; I would be "checking out"
+ to that commit and enter a "detached HEAD" state, meaning, that the "pointer" called HEAD
+ which tells me where I am right now in my working tree is not where it generally should be,
+ i.e., the latest commit(or the tip of the branch). I can now work upon the checked out
+ commit and make any changes or just inspect the files at that state.
+
+ 2. Go to another branch or create another branch; I would be "checking out" to another tree
+ in my local repository. One might expect to enter a detached HEAD here as well but in fact
+ does not. This is because HEAD would point to the tip of the checked out branch, something
+ which is not a characteristic of a detached HEAD.
++
+To checkout to a commit, one can either pass the SHA1 of the commit to be checked out or a reference to it wrt
+the HEAD. To checkout to another already existing branch, one should use `git checkout <branch-name>`.
+Also, one can create a new branch as well as checkout to it at the same time using `git checkout -b <new-branch-name>`.
+
Hooks
-----
--
2.20.1
^ permalink raw reply related [flat|nested] 10+ messages in thread