Merge branch 'dt/cat-file-follow-symlinks'

"git cat-file --batch(-check)" learned the "--follow-symlinks"
option that follows an in-tree symbolic link when asked about an
object via extended SHA-1 syntax, e.g. HEAD:RelNotes that points at
Documentation/RelNotes/2.5.0.txt.  With the new option, the command
behaves as if HEAD:Documentation/RelNotes/2.5.0.txt was given as
input instead.

* dt/cat-file-follow-symlinks:
  cat-file: add --follow-symlinks to --batch
  sha1_name: get_sha1_with_context learns to follow symlinks
  tree-walk: learn get_tree_entry_follow_symlinks

7 files changed, 601 insertions, 19 deletions

diff --git a/Documentation/git-cat-file.txt b/Documentation/git-cat-file.txt
index 499ae7b98a..319ab4cb08 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-cat-file.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-cat-file.txt
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 --------
 [verse]
 'git cat-file' (-t [--allow-unknown-type]| -s [--allow-unknown-type]| -e | -p | <type> | --textconv ) <object>
-'git cat-file' (--batch | --batch-check) < <list-of-objects>
+'git cat-file' (--batch | --batch-check) [--follow-symlinks] < <list-of-objects>
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
@@ -72,6 +72,62 @@ OPTIONS
 --allow-unknown-type::
 	Allow -s or -t to query broken/corrupt objects of unknown type.
 
+--follow-symlinks::
+	With --batch or --batch-check, follow symlinks inside the
+	repository when requesting objects with extended SHA-1
+	expressions of the form tree-ish:path-in-tree.  Instead of
+	providing output about the link itself, provide output about
+	the linked-to object.  If a symlink points outside the
+	tree-ish (e.g. a link to /foo or a root-level link to ../foo),
+	the portion of the link which is outside the tree will be
+	printed.
++
+This option does not (currently) work correctly when an object in the
+index is specified (e.g. `:link` instead of `HEAD:link`) rather than
+one in the tree.
++
+This option cannot (currently) be used unless `--batch` or
+`--batch-check` is used.
++
+For example, consider a git repository containing:
++
+--
+	f: a file containing "hello\n"
+	link: a symlink to f
+	dir/link: a symlink to ../f
+	plink: a symlink to ../f
+	alink: a symlink to /etc/passwd
+--
++
+For a regular file `f`, `echo HEAD:f | git cat-file --batch` would print
++
+--
+	ce013625030ba8dba906f756967f9e9ca394464a blob 6
+--
++
+And `echo HEAD:link | git cat-file --batch --follow-symlinks` would
+print the same thing, as would `HEAD:dir/link`, as they both point at
+`HEAD:f`.
++
+Without `--follow-symlinks`, these would print data about the symlink
+itself.  In the case of `HEAD:link`, you would see
++
+--
+	4d1ae35ba2c8ec712fa2a379db44ad639ca277bd blob 1
+--
++
+Both `plink` and `alink` point outside the tree, so they would
+respectively print:
++
+--
+	symlink 4
+	../f
+
+	symlink 11
+	/etc/passwd
+--
+
+
 OUTPUT
 ------
 If '-t' is specified, one of the <type>.
@@ -151,6 +207,47 @@ the repository, then `cat-file` will ignore any custom format and print:
 <object> SP missing LF
 ------------
 
+If --follow-symlinks is used, and a symlink in the repository points
+outside the repository, then `cat-file` will ignore any custom format
+and print:
+
+------------
+symlink SP <size> LF
+<symlink> LF
+------------
+
+The symlink will either be absolute (beginning with a /), or relative
+to the tree root.  For instance, if dir/link points to ../../foo, then
+<symlink> will be ../foo.  <size> is the size of the symlink in bytes.
+
+If --follow-symlinks is used, the following error messages will be
+displayed:
+
+------------
+<object> SP missing LF
+------------
+is printed when the initial symlink requested does not exist.
+
+------------
+dangling SP <size> LF
+<object> LF
+------------
+is printed when the initial symlink exists, but something that
+it (transitive-of) points to does not.
+
+------------
+loop SP <size> LF
+<object> LF
+------------
+is printed for symlink loops (or any symlinks that
+require more than 40 link resolutions to resolve).
+
+------------
+notdir SP <size> LF
+<object> LF
+------------
+is printed when, during symlink resolution, a file is used as a
+directory name.
 
 CAVEATS
 -------
diff --git a/builtin/cat-file.c b/builtin/cat-file.c
index ecb488822f..049a95f1f1 100644
--- a/builtin/cat-file.c
+++ b/builtin/cat-file.c
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 #include "parse-options.h"
 #include "userdiff.h"
 #include "streaming.h"
+#include "tree-walk.h"
 
 static int cat_one_file(int opt, const char *exp_type, const char *obj_name,
 			int unknown_type)
@@ -233,6 +234,7 @@ static void print_object_or_die(int fd, struct expand_data *data)
 
 struct batch_options {
 	int enabled;
+	int follow_symlinks;
 	int print_contents;
 	const char *format;
 };
@@ -241,12 +243,44 @@ static int batch_one_object(const char *obj_name, struct batch_options *opt,
 			    struct expand_data *data)
 {
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
+	struct object_context ctx;
+	int flags = opt->follow_symlinks ? GET_SHA1_FOLLOW_SYMLINKS : 0;
+	enum follow_symlinks_result result;
 
 	if (!obj_name)
 	   return 1;
 
-	if (get_sha1(obj_name, data->sha1)) {
-		printf("%s missing\n", obj_name);
+	result = get_sha1_with_context(obj_name, flags, data->sha1, &ctx);
+	if (result != FOUND) {
+		switch (result) {
+		case MISSING_OBJECT:
+			printf("%s missing\n", obj_name);
+			break;
+		case DANGLING_SYMLINK:
+			printf("dangling %"PRIuMAX"\n%s\n",
+			       (uintmax_t)strlen(obj_name), obj_name);
+			break;
+		case SYMLINK_LOOP:
+			printf("loop %"PRIuMAX"\n%s\n",
+			       (uintmax_t)strlen(obj_name), obj_name);
+			break;
+		case NOT_DIR:
+			printf("notdir %"PRIuMAX"\n%s\n",
+			       (uintmax_t)strlen(obj_name), obj_name);
+			break;
+		default:
+			die("BUG: unknown get_sha1_with_context result %d\n",
+			       result);
+			break;
+		}
+		fflush(stdout);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	if (ctx.mode == 0) {
+		printf("symlink %"PRIuMAX"\n%s\n",
+		       (uintmax_t)ctx.symlink_path.len,
+		       ctx.symlink_path.buf);
 		fflush(stdout);
 		return 0;
 	}
@@ -333,7 +367,7 @@ static int batch_objects(struct batch_options *opt)
 
 static const char * const cat_file_usage[] = {
 	N_("git cat-file (-t [--allow-unknown-type]|-s [--allow-unknown-type]|-e|-p|<type>|--textconv) <object>"),
-	N_("git cat-file (--batch | --batch-check) < <list-of-objects>"),
+	N_("git cat-file (--batch | --batch-check) [--follow-symlinks] < <list-of-objects>"),
 	NULL
 };
 
@@ -351,9 +385,8 @@ static int batch_option_callback(const struct option *opt,
 {
 	struct batch_options *bo = opt->value;
 
-	if (unset) {
-		memset(bo, 0, sizeof(*bo));
-		return 0;
+	if (bo->enabled) {
+		return 1;
 	}
 
 	bo->enabled = 1;
@@ -387,6 +420,8 @@ int cmd_cat_file(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		{ OPTION_CALLBACK, 0, "batch-check", &batch, "format",
 			N_("show info about objects fed from the standard input"),
 			PARSE_OPT_OPTARG, batch_option_callback },
+		OPT_BOOL(0, "follow-symlinks", &batch.follow_symlinks,
+			 N_("follow in-tree symlinks (used with --batch or --batch-check)")),
 		OPT_END()
 	};
 
@@ -411,6 +446,10 @@ int cmd_cat_file(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		usage_with_options(cat_file_usage, options);
 	}
 
+	if (batch.follow_symlinks && !batch.enabled) {
+		usage_with_options(cat_file_usage, options);
+	}
+
 	if (batch.enabled)
 		return batch_objects(&batch);
 
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index 9da9784824..571c98f5e2 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -971,15 +971,21 @@ struct object_context {
 	unsigned char tree[20];
 	char path[PATH_MAX];
 	unsigned mode;
+	/*
+	 * symlink_path is only used by get_tree_entry_follow_symlinks,
+	 * and only for symlinks that point outside the repository.
+	 */
+	struct strbuf symlink_path;
 };
 
-#define GET_SHA1_QUIETLY        01
-#define GET_SHA1_COMMIT         02
-#define GET_SHA1_COMMITTISH     04
-#define GET_SHA1_TREE          010
-#define GET_SHA1_TREEISH       020
-#define GET_SHA1_BLOB	       040
-#define GET_SHA1_ONLY_TO_DIE 04000
+#define GET_SHA1_QUIETLY           01
+#define GET_SHA1_COMMIT            02
+#define GET_SHA1_COMMITTISH        04
+#define GET_SHA1_TREE             010
+#define GET_SHA1_TREEISH          020
+#define GET_SHA1_BLOB             040
+#define GET_SHA1_FOLLOW_SYMLINKS 0100
+#define GET_SHA1_ONLY_TO_DIE    04000
 
 extern int get_sha1(const char *str, unsigned char *sha1);
 extern int get_sha1_commit(const char *str, unsigned char *sha1);
diff --git a/sha1_name.c b/sha1_name.c
index 6de8c87c8a..46218ba02c 100644
--- a/sha1_name.c
+++ b/sha1_name.c
@@ -1433,11 +1433,19 @@ static int get_sha1_with_context_1(const char *name,
 			new_filename = resolve_relative_path(filename);
 			if (new_filename)
 				filename = new_filename;
-			ret = get_tree_entry(tree_sha1, filename, sha1, &oc->mode);
-			if (ret && only_to_die) {
-				diagnose_invalid_sha1_path(prefix, filename,
-							   tree_sha1,
-							   name, len);
+			if (flags & GET_SHA1_FOLLOW_SYMLINKS) {
+				ret = get_tree_entry_follow_symlinks(tree_sha1,
+					filename, sha1, &oc->symlink_path,
+					&oc->mode);
+			} else {
+				ret = get_tree_entry(tree_sha1, filename,
+						     sha1, &oc->mode);
+				if (ret && only_to_die) {
+					diagnose_invalid_sha1_path(prefix,
+								   filename,
+								   tree_sha1,
+								   name, len);
+				}
 			}
 			hashcpy(oc->tree, tree_sha1);
 			strlcpy(oc->path, filename, sizeof(oc->path));
@@ -1468,5 +1476,7 @@ void maybe_die_on_misspelt_object_name(const char *name, const char *prefix)
 
 int get_sha1_with_context(const char *str, unsigned flags, unsigned char *sha1, struct object_context *orc)
 {
+	if (flags & GET_SHA1_FOLLOW_SYMLINKS && flags & GET_SHA1_ONLY_TO_DIE)
+		die("BUG: incompatible flags for get_sha1_with_context");
 	return get_sha1_with_context_1(str, flags, NULL, sha1, orc);
 }
diff --git a/t/t1006-cat-file.sh b/t/t1006-cat-file.sh
index 4f225db9a7..93a4794930 100755
--- a/t/t1006-cat-file.sh
+++ b/t/t1006-cat-file.sh
@@ -201,6 +201,13 @@ do
     '
 done
 
+for opt in t s e p
+do
+    test_expect_success "Passing -$opt with --follow-symlinks fails" '
+	    test_must_fail git cat-file --follow-symlinks -$opt $hello_sha1
+	'
+done
+
 test_expect_success "--batch-check for a non-existent named object" '
     test "foobar42 missing
 foobar84 missing" = \
@@ -341,4 +348,203 @@ test_expect_success "Size of large broken object is correct when type is large"
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
+# Tests for git cat-file --follow-symlinks
+test_expect_success 'prep for symlink tests' '
+	echo_without_newline "$hello_content" >morx &&
+	test_ln_s_add morx same-dir-link &&
+	test_ln_s_add dir link-to-dir &&
+	test_ln_s_add ../fleem out-of-repo-link &&
+	test_ln_s_add .. out-of-repo-link-dir &&
+	test_ln_s_add same-dir-link link-to-link &&
+	test_ln_s_add nope broken-same-dir-link &&
+	mkdir dir &&
+	test_ln_s_add ../morx dir/parent-dir-link &&
+	test_ln_s_add .. dir/link-dir &&
+	test_ln_s_add ../../escape dir/out-of-repo-link &&
+	test_ln_s_add ../.. dir/out-of-repo-link-dir &&
+	test_ln_s_add nope dir/broken-link-in-dir &&
+	mkdir dir/subdir &&
+	test_ln_s_add ../../morx dir/subdir/grandparent-dir-link &&
+	test_ln_s_add ../../../great-escape dir/subdir/out-of-repo-link &&
+	test_ln_s_add ../../.. dir/subdir/out-of-repo-link-dir &&
+	test_ln_s_add ../../../ dir/subdir/out-of-repo-link-dir-trailing &&
+	test_ln_s_add ../parent-dir-link dir/subdir/parent-dir-link-to-link &&
+	echo_without_newline "$hello_content" >dir/subdir/ind2 &&
+	echo_without_newline "$hello_content" >dir/ind1 &&
+	test_ln_s_add dir dirlink &&
+	test_ln_s_add dir/subdir subdirlink &&
+	test_ln_s_add subdir/ind2 dir/link-to-child &&
+	test_ln_s_add dir/link-to-child link-to-down-link &&
+	test_ln_s_add dir/.. up-down &&
+	test_ln_s_add dir/../ up-down-trailing &&
+	test_ln_s_add dir/../morx up-down-file &&
+	test_ln_s_add dir/../../morx up-up-down-file &&
+	test_ln_s_add subdirlink/../../morx up-two-down-file &&
+	test_ln_s_add loop1 loop2 &&
+	test_ln_s_add loop2 loop1 &&
+	git add morx dir/subdir/ind2 dir/ind1 &&
+	git commit -am "test" &&
+	echo $hello_sha1 blob $hello_size >found
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for non-links' '
+	echo HEAD:morx | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual &&
+	echo HEAD:nope missing >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:nope | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for in-repo, same-dir links' '
+	echo HEAD:same-dir-link | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for in-repo, links to dirs' '
+	echo HEAD:link-to-dir/ind1 | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual
+'
+
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for broken in-repo, same-dir links' '
+	echo dangling 25 >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:broken-same-dir-link >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:broken-same-dir-link | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for same-dir links-to-links' '
+	echo HEAD:link-to-link | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for parent-dir links' '
+	echo HEAD:dir/parent-dir-link | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual &&
+	echo notdir 29 >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/parent-dir-link/nope >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/parent-dir-link/nope | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for .. links' '
+	echo dangling 22 >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/link-dir/nope >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/link-dir/nope | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/link-dir/morx | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual &&
+	echo dangling 27 >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/broken-link-in-dir >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/broken-link-in-dir | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for ../.. links' '
+	echo notdir 41 >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/subdir/grandparent-dir-link/nope >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/subdir/grandparent-dir-link/nope | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/subdir/grandparent-dir-link | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/subdir/parent-dir-link-to-link | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for dir/ links' '
+	echo dangling 17 >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dirlink/morx >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dirlink/morx | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	echo $hello_sha1 blob $hello_size >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dirlink/ind1 | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for dir/subdir links' '
+	echo dangling 20 >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:subdirlink/morx >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:subdirlink/morx | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	echo HEAD:subdirlink/ind2 | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for dir ->subdir links' '
+	echo notdir 27 >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/link-to-child/morx >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/link-to-child/morx | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/link-to-child | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual &&
+	echo HEAD:link-to-down-link | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for out-of-repo symlinks' '
+	echo symlink 8 >expect &&
+	echo ../fleem >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:out-of-repo-link | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	echo symlink 2 >expect &&
+	echo .. >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:out-of-repo-link-dir | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for out-of-repo symlinks in dirs' '
+	echo symlink 9 >expect &&
+	echo ../escape >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/out-of-repo-link | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	echo symlink 2 >expect &&
+	echo .. >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/out-of-repo-link-dir | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for out-of-repo symlinks in subdirs' '
+	echo symlink 15 >expect &&
+	echo ../great-escape >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/subdir/out-of-repo-link | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	echo symlink 2 >expect &&
+	echo .. >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/subdir/out-of-repo-link-dir | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	echo symlink 3 >expect &&
+	echo ../ >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:dir/subdir/out-of-repo-link-dir-trailing | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks works for symlinks with internal ..' '
+	echo HEAD: | git cat-file --batch-check >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:up-down | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	echo HEAD:up-down-trailing | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	echo HEAD:up-down-file | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual &&
+	echo symlink 7 >expect &&
+	echo ../morx >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:up-up-down-file | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	echo HEAD:up-two-down-file | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp found actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlink breaks loops' '
+	echo loop 10 >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:loop1 >>expect &&
+	echo HEAD:loop1 | git cat-file --batch-check --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git cat-file --batch --follow-symlink returns correct sha and mode' '
+	echo HEAD:morx | git cat-file --batch >expect &&
+	echo HEAD:morx | git cat-file --batch --follow-symlinks >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/tree-walk.c b/tree-walk.c
index 5dd9a71804..6dccd2d5dd 100644
--- a/tree-walk.c
+++ b/tree-walk.c
@@ -415,6 +415,12 @@ int traverse_trees(int n, struct tree_desc *t, struct traverse_info *info)
 	return error;
 }
 
+struct dir_state {
+	void *tree;
+	unsigned long size;
+	unsigned char sha1[20];
+};
+
 static int find_tree_entry(struct tree_desc *t, const char *name, unsigned char *result, unsigned *mode)
 {
 	int namelen = strlen(name);
@@ -478,6 +484,206 @@ int get_tree_entry(const unsigned char *tree_sha1, const char *name, unsigned ch
 	return retval;
 }
 
+/*
+ * This is Linux's built-in max for the number of symlinks to follow.
+ * That limit, of course, does not affect git, but it's a reasonable
+ * choice.
+ */
+#define GET_TREE_ENTRY_FOLLOW_SYMLINKS_MAX_LINKS 40
+
+/**
+ * Find a tree entry by following symlinks in tree_sha (which is
+ * assumed to be the root of the repository).  In the event that a
+ * symlink points outside the repository (e.g. a link to /foo or a
+ * root-level link to ../foo), the portion of the link which is
+ * outside the repository will be returned in result_path, and *mode
+ * will be set to 0.  It is assumed that result_path is uninitialized.
+ * If there are no symlinks, or the end result of the symlink chain
+ * points to an object inside the repository, result will be filled in
+ * with the sha1 of the found object, and *mode will hold the mode of
+ * the object.
+ *
+ * See the code for enum follow_symlink_result for a description of
+ * the return values.
+ */
+enum follow_symlinks_result get_tree_entry_follow_symlinks(unsigned char *tree_sha1, const char *name, unsigned char *result, struct strbuf *result_path, unsigned *mode)
+{
+	int retval = MISSING_OBJECT;
+	struct dir_state *parents = NULL;
+	size_t parents_alloc = 0;
+	ssize_t parents_nr = 0;
+	unsigned char current_tree_sha1[20];
+	struct strbuf namebuf = STRBUF_INIT;
+	struct tree_desc t;
+	int follows_remaining = GET_TREE_ENTRY_FOLLOW_SYMLINKS_MAX_LINKS;
+	int i;
+
+	init_tree_desc(&t, NULL, 0UL);
+	strbuf_init(result_path, 0);
+	strbuf_addstr(&namebuf, name);
+	hashcpy(current_tree_sha1, tree_sha1);
+
+	while (1) {
+		int find_result;
+		char *first_slash;
+		char *remainder = NULL;
+
+		if (!t.buffer) {
+			void *tree;
+			unsigned char root[20];
+			unsigned long size;
+			tree = read_object_with_reference(current_tree_sha1,
+							  tree_type, &size,
+							  root);
+			if (!tree)
+				goto done;
+
+			ALLOC_GROW(parents, parents_nr + 1, parents_alloc);
+			parents[parents_nr].tree = tree;
+			parents[parents_nr].size = size;
+			hashcpy(parents[parents_nr].sha1, root);
+			parents_nr++;
+
+			if (namebuf.buf[0] == '\0') {
+				hashcpy(result, root);
+				retval = FOUND;
+				goto done;
+			}
+
+			if (!size)
+				goto done;
+
+			/* descend */
+			init_tree_desc(&t, tree, size);
+		}
+
+		/* Handle symlinks to e.g. a//b by removing leading slashes */
+		while (namebuf.buf[0] == '/') {
+			strbuf_remove(&namebuf, 0, 1);
+		}
+
+		/* Split namebuf into a first component and a remainder */
+		if ((first_slash = strchr(namebuf.buf, '/'))) {
+			*first_slash = 0;
+			remainder = first_slash + 1;
+		}
+
+		if (!strcmp(namebuf.buf, "..")) {
+			struct dir_state *parent;
+			/*
+			 * We could end up with .. in the namebuf if it
+			 * appears in a symlink.
+			 */
+
+			if (parents_nr == 1) {
+				if (remainder)
+					*first_slash = '/';
+				strbuf_add(result_path, namebuf.buf,
+					   namebuf.len);
+				*mode = 0;
+				retval = FOUND;
+				goto done;
+			}
+			parent = &parents[parents_nr - 1];
+			free(parent->tree);
+			parents_nr--;
+			parent = &parents[parents_nr - 1];
+			init_tree_desc(&t, parent->tree, parent->size);
+			strbuf_remove(&namebuf, 0, remainder ? 3 : 2);
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		/* We could end up here via a symlink to dir/.. */
+		if (namebuf.buf[0] == '\0') {
+			hashcpy(result, parents[parents_nr - 1].sha1);
+			retval = FOUND;
+			goto done;
+		}
+
+		/* Look up the first (or only) path component in the tree. */
+		find_result = find_tree_entry(&t, namebuf.buf,
+					      current_tree_sha1, mode);
+		if (find_result) {
+			goto done;
+		}
+
+		if (S_ISDIR(*mode)) {
+			if (!remainder) {
+				hashcpy(result, current_tree_sha1);
+				retval = FOUND;
+				goto done;
+			}
+			/* Descend the tree */
+			t.buffer = NULL;
+			strbuf_remove(&namebuf, 0,
+				      1 + first_slash - namebuf.buf);
+		} else if (S_ISREG(*mode)) {
+			if (!remainder) {
+				hashcpy(result, current_tree_sha1);
+				retval = FOUND;
+			} else {
+				retval = NOT_DIR;
+			}
+			goto done;
+		} else if (S_ISLNK(*mode)) {
+			/* Follow a symlink */
+			unsigned long link_len;
+			size_t len;
+			char *contents, *contents_start;
+			struct dir_state *parent;
+			enum object_type type;
+
+			if (follows_remaining-- == 0) {
+				/* Too many symlinks followed */
+				retval = SYMLINK_LOOP;
+				goto done;
+			}
+
+			/*
+			 * At this point, we have followed at a least
+			 * one symlink, so on error we need to report this.
+			 */
+			retval = DANGLING_SYMLINK;
+
+			contents = read_sha1_file(current_tree_sha1, &type,
+						  &link_len);
+
+			if (!contents)
+				goto done;
+
+			if (contents[0] == '/') {
+				strbuf_addstr(result_path, contents);
+				free(contents);
+				*mode = 0;
+				retval = FOUND;
+				goto done;
+			}
+
+			if (remainder)
+				len = first_slash - namebuf.buf;
+			else
+				len = namebuf.len;
+
+			contents_start = contents;
+
+			parent = &parents[parents_nr - 1];
+			init_tree_desc(&t, parent->tree, parent->size);
+			strbuf_splice(&namebuf, 0, len,
+				      contents_start, link_len);
+			if (remainder)
+				namebuf.buf[link_len] = '/';
+			free(contents);
+		}
+	}
+done:
+	for (i = 0; i < parents_nr; i++)
+		free(parents[i].tree);
+	free(parents);
+
+	strbuf_release(&namebuf);
+	return retval;
+}
+
 static int match_entry(const struct pathspec_item *item,
 		       const struct name_entry *entry, int pathlen,
 		       const char *match, int matchlen,
diff --git a/tree-walk.h b/tree-walk.h
index ae7fb3a824..3b2f7bf17d 100644
--- a/tree-walk.h
+++ b/tree-walk.h
@@ -40,6 +40,24 @@ struct traverse_info;
 typedef int (*traverse_callback_t)(int n, unsigned long mask, unsigned long dirmask, struct name_entry *entry, struct traverse_info *);
 int traverse_trees(int n, struct tree_desc *t, struct traverse_info *info);
 
+enum follow_symlinks_result {
+	FOUND = 0, /* This includes out-of-tree links */
+	MISSING_OBJECT = -1, /* The initial symlink is missing */
+	DANGLING_SYMLINK = -2, /*
+				* The initial symlink is there, but
+				* (transitively) points to a missing
+				* in-tree file
+				*/
+	SYMLINK_LOOP = -3,
+	NOT_DIR = -4, /*
+		       * Somewhere along the symlink chain, a path is
+		       * requested which contains a file as a
+		       * non-final element.
+		       */
+};
+
+enum follow_symlinks_result get_tree_entry_follow_symlinks(unsigned char *tree_sha1, const char *name, unsigned char *result, struct strbuf *result_path, unsigned *mode);
+
 struct traverse_info {
 	struct traverse_info *prev;
 	struct name_entry name;