Re: git submodules

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

"Nigel Magnay" <nigel.magnay@gmail.com> writes:

>> I do not understand.  We are talking about three different things here:
>>
>> 1) the committed state of the submodule
>> 2) the local state of the submodule
>> 3) the state of the "tracks" branch
>>
>> We always have 1) and we have 2) _iff_ the submodule was checked out.  We
>> only will have 3) if "tracks" is set in .git/config (for consistency's
>> sake, we should not read that information directly from the .gitmodules
>> file, but let the user override it in .git/config after "submodule init".
>
> I think the implication is that .gitconfig states "I'm expecting that
> submodule X will always be tracking branch name 'Y'" and that you
> wouldn't ever override it in .git/config. If you then switched
> submodule X to branch Z, then committed the superproject, that commit
> would contain a change to .gitconfig also (to say I'm expecting to
> track Z rather than X') ?

You are right.  I think letting the user override with .git/config is a
good idea, but it shouldn't be ".gitmodules may say X or whatever, but I
want to use Y".

Instead, it should be more like "On branches where .gitmodules says X, I
want to use Y."

This comment actually applies to the existing override of .gitmodules item
with .git/config (I think I've been saying it since the design phase).