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authorJunio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>2012-09-14 20:45:03 -0700
committerJunio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>2012-09-14 20:45:03 -0700
commit67117596173cc49b0ca4b8b5739c5fd794a7022a (patch)
treefde0d393ba0cc8eacce83e1f5da70d0b4dc15842 /Documentation/gitcli.txt
parent1403db49b80630cf8c36ba3e8b0f085ea0ab8286 (diff)
parent8300016e0ab6959c4b45f64ec585832726430fc7 (diff)
downloadgit-67117596173cc49b0ca4b8b5739c5fd794a7022a.tar.gz
Merge branch 'jc/maint-checkout-fileglob-doc' into maint-1.7.11
* jc/maint-checkout-fileglob-doc: gitcli: contrast wildcard given to shell and to git gitcli: formatting fix Document file-glob for "git checkout -- '*.c'"
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/gitcli.txt')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/gitcli.txt19
1 files changed, 18 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/gitcli.txt b/Documentation/gitcli.txt
index 3e72a5d68e..f6ba90c2da 100644
--- a/Documentation/gitcli.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gitcli.txt
@@ -37,11 +37,28 @@ arguments. Here are the rules:
file called HEAD in your work tree, `git diff HEAD` is ambiguous, and
you have to say either `git diff HEAD --` or `git diff -- HEAD` to
disambiguate.
-
++
When writing a script that is expected to handle random user-input, it is
a good practice to make it explicit which arguments are which by placing
disambiguating `--` at appropriate places.
+ * Many commands allow wildcards in paths, but you need to protect
+ them from getting globbed by the shell. These two mean different
+ things:
++
+--------------------------------
+$ git checkout -- *.c
+$ git checkout -- \*.c
+--------------------------------
++
+The former lets your shell expand the fileglob, and you are asking
+the dot-C files in your working tree to be overwritten with the version
+in the index. The latter passes the `*.c` to Git, and you are asking
+the paths in the index that match the pattern to be checked out to your
+working tree. After running `git add hello.c; rm hello.c`, you will _not_
+see `hello.c` in your working tree with the former, but with the latter
+you will.
+
Here are the rules regarding the "flags" that you should follow when you are
scripting git: