mirror of
https://github.com/git/git.git
synced 2024-11-16 14:04:52 +01:00
22b1c7ee01
The fact that git has previously used symbolic links for representing symbolic refs doesn't seem relevant to the current function of git-symbolic-ref. This patch makes less of a big deal about the symbolic link history and instead focuses on what git does now. Signed-off-by: Andy Parkins <andyparkins@gmail.com> Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>
45 lines
1.4 KiB
Text
45 lines
1.4 KiB
Text
git-symbolic-ref(1)
|
|
===================
|
|
|
|
NAME
|
|
----
|
|
git-symbolic-ref - read and modify symbolic refs
|
|
|
|
SYNOPSIS
|
|
--------
|
|
'git-symbolic-ref' <name> [<ref>]
|
|
|
|
DESCRIPTION
|
|
-----------
|
|
Given one argument, reads which branch head the given symbolic
|
|
ref refers to and outputs its path, relative to the `.git/`
|
|
directory. Typically you would give `HEAD` as the <name>
|
|
argument to see on which branch your working tree is on.
|
|
|
|
Give two arguments, create or update a symbolic ref <name> to
|
|
point at the given branch <ref>.
|
|
|
|
A symbolic ref is a regular file that stores a string that
|
|
begins with `ref: refs/`. For example, your `.git/HEAD` is
|
|
a regular file whose contents is `ref: refs/heads/master`.
|
|
|
|
NOTES
|
|
-----
|
|
In the past, `.git/HEAD` was a symbolic link pointing at
|
|
`refs/heads/master`. When we wanted to switch to another branch,
|
|
we did `ln -sf refs/heads/newbranch .git/HEAD`, and when we wanted
|
|
to find out which branch we are on, we did `readlink .git/HEAD`.
|
|
This was fine, and internally that is what still happens by
|
|
default, but on platforms that do not have working symlinks,
|
|
or that do not have the `readlink(1)` command, this was a bit
|
|
cumbersome. On some platforms, `ln -sf` does not even work as
|
|
advertised (horrors). Therefore symbolic links are now deprecated
|
|
and symbolic refs are used by default.
|
|
|
|
Author
|
|
------
|
|
Written by Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>
|
|
|
|
GIT
|
|
---
|
|
Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite
|