From: Erick Mattos Date: Sat, 22 May 2010 00:28:35 +0000 (-0300) Subject: Documentation: alter checkout --orphan description X-Git-Tag: v1.7.2-rc0~36^2~5 X-Git-Url: http://git.tremily.us/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=feb98d134289527eeb9d1fd11d8c284819a0aa1d;p=git.git Documentation: alter checkout --orphan description The present text is a try to enhance description accuracy. It is a merge of the rewritten text made by native english speaker Chris Johnsen and further changes of Junio. It came from the last thread messages of --orphan patch. Signed-off-by: Erick Mattos Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano --- diff --git a/Documentation/git-checkout.txt b/Documentation/git-checkout.txt index 4505eb6d8..b84ec2627 100644 --- a/Documentation/git-checkout.txt +++ b/Documentation/git-checkout.txt @@ -91,22 +91,29 @@ explicitly give a name with '-b' in such a case. details. --orphan:: - Create a new branch named , unparented to any other - branch. The new branch you switch to does not have any commit - and after the first one it will become the root of a new history - completely unconnected from all the other branches. + Create a new 'orphan' branch, named , started from + and switch to it. The first commit made on this + new branch will have no parents and it will be the root of a new + history totally disconnected from all the other branches and + commits. + -When you use "--orphan", the index and the working tree are kept intact. -This allows you to start a new history that records set of paths similar -to that of the start-point commit, which is useful when you want to keep -different branches for different audiences you are working to like when -you have an open source and commercial versions of a software, for example. +The index and the working tree are adjusted as if you had previously run +"git checkout ". This allows you to start a new history +that records a set of paths similar to by easily running +"git commit -a" to make the root commit. + -If you want to start a disconnected history that records set of paths -totally different from the original branch, you may want to first clear -the index and the working tree, by running "git rm -rf ." from the -top-level of the working tree, before preparing your files (by copying -from elsewhere, extracting a tarball, etc.) in the working tree. +This can be useful when you want to publish the tree from a commit +without exposing its full history. You might want to do this to publish +an open source branch of a project whose current tree is "clean", but +whose full history contains proprietary or otherwise encumbered bits of +code. ++ +If you want to start a disconnected history that records a set of paths +that is totally different from the one of , then you should +clear the index and the working tree right after creating the orphan +branch by running "git rm -rf ." from the top level of the working tree. +Afterwards you will be ready to prepare your new files, repopulating the +working tree, by copying them from elsewhere, extracting a tarball, etc. -m:: --merge::