Re: [BUG?] git checkout -b removes MERGE_HEAD

[Jan Hudec <bulb@ucw.cz>]

On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 10:39:31 -0800, Junio C Hamano wrote:
> "Jan Hudec" <bulb@ucw.cz> writes:
> 
> >  So I did:
> >
> >    $ git checkout -b temp
> >    $ git commit
> >
> >    OOPS! It forgot it was a merge.
> 
> I think it was an oversight by the author of 91dcdfd (Make "git checkout"
> create new branches on demand, 2005-07-11) who forgot that he also did
> ef0bfa2 (Remove MERGE_HEAD in "git checkout/reset", 2005-06-21).  The
> rationale for the removal of MERGE_HEAD from the earlier commit is:
> 
>     [this command] will end up resetting the index to some specific
>     head, and any unresolved merge will be forgotten [hence there is no
>     point recording the result as a merge].
> 
> but when used with -b no such "resetting of the index" happens.
> 
> Having said that, changing it not to remove MERGE_HEAD and MERGE_MSG is
> probably not sufficient, as MERGE_MSG would likely to already record to
> which branch you are recording the merge (I didn't check, though).

I believe it indeed does. However since it's now just a template for the
commit message, it can be fixed up by the user. If he actually wants to, that
is.

In my case, I only needed to stash the changes, so I could switch back to
'master' (left merge parent) to test the bug I was seeing was already there
and than I merged the temporary branch to 'master' (which was fast forward).
So the message saying I merged to 'master' was actually appropriate even when
I was commiting to some other ref.

-- 
						 Jan 'Bulb' Hudec <bulb@ucw.cz>