Re: [PATCH] Documentation: add a planning document for the next CLI revamp

[Sam Vilain <sam@vilain.net>]

On Thu, 2008-10-30 at 12:53 -0400, Nicolas Pitre wrote:
> > Seconded.
> > 
> > Having git-checkout $foo being a shorthand for git checkout -b $foo
> > origin/$foo when origin/$foo exists and $foo doesn't is definitely handy.
> 
> No.  This is only the first step towards insanity.
> 
> In many cases origin/$foo == origin/master so this can't work in that 
> case which is, after all, the common case.

I don't understand that argument at all, can you explain further?

>   Therefore I think this is 
> wrong to add magic operations which are not useful for the common case 
> and actively _hide_ how git actually works.  Not only will you have to 
> explain how git works anyway for that common origin/master case, but 
> you'll also have to explain why sometimes the magic works and sometimes 
> not.  Please keep such convenience shortcuts for your own scripts and/or 
> aliases.

It's not about magic, it's about sensible defaults.  Currently this use
case is an error, and the resultant command is very long to type, and
involves typing the branch name twice.  I end up writing things like:

  git checkout -b {,origin/}wr34251-do-something

For the user who doesn't know to use the ksh-style {} blocks this is
voodoo.  The longer form is cumbersome.

For the case where the thing you type is a resolvable reference, it
would just check it out, as now.

Sam.