Re: [PATCH/RFC] Convenient support of remote branches in git-checkout

[Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>]

Josef Weidendorfer <Josef.Weidendorfer@gmx.de> writes:

>> Then "git checkout origin/next" would always mean "I want to
>> switch to the branch I use to hack on the branch 'next' Junio
>> has".  Do it once and you will get exactly my tip, hack on it,
>> switch out of it and then do it again and you won't lose your
>> previous work but just switch to that branch.
>
> Ah, now I understand your thinking.
> I admit it has a compelling elegance.
>
> However.
> Would it not be confusing for newbies (and not only for them) to
> first reference the remote branch with "origin/next", and afterwards, you
> get your own development branch by using the exactly same name?

In that example, the user types "git checkout origin/next".  I
do not think there is any confusion.

You come from git background from the era git checkout did _not_
have this magic (in other words, "today"), so you implicitly see
remotes/ prefixed in front of the "origin/next" string there.

But new people do not see remotes/ prefixed there.  To them, the
example command line says "Now I want to be on my 'origin/next'
branch", and there is nothing 'remote' about it.

The magic under discussion happens to create your 'origin/next'
branch automagically from 'remotes/origin/next' when it exists,
but that can be transparent to the user [*1*].

Well, your original magic did not propose it that way, but I
twisted it.

[Footnote]

*1* This is in line with what I wanted to say in my earlier "if
    I were redoing git from scratch" message when I talked about
    making "remotes" less visible.