[PATCH] status: add advice on how to push/pull to tracking branch

[PATCH] status: add advice on how to push/pull to tracking branch

[Matthieu Moy]

Signed-off-by: Matthieu Moy <Matthieu.Moy@imag.fr>
---
I thought this was obvious enough not to deserve an advice, but a
colleague of mine had troubles with "commited but not pushed" changes.
Maybe an additional advice would have helped. After all, it's an
advice, and can be deactivated ...

 remote.c                   | 13 ++++++++++---
 t/t2020-checkout-detach.sh |  1 +
 2 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/remote.c b/remote.c
index 04fd9ea..9c19689 100644
--- a/remote.c
+++ b/remote.c
@@ -1627,13 +1627,15 @@ int format_tracking_info(struct branch *branch, struct strbuf *sb)
 
 	base = branch->merge[0]->dst;
 	base = shorten_unambiguous_ref(base, 0);
-	if (!num_theirs)
+	if (!num_theirs) {
 		strbuf_addf(sb,
 			Q_("Your branch is ahead of '%s' by %d commit.\n",
 			   "Your branch is ahead of '%s' by %d commits.\n",
 			   num_ours),
 			base, num_ours);
-	else if (!num_ours)
+		strbuf_addf(sb,
+			_("  (use \"git push\" to publish your local commits)\n"));
+	} else if (!num_ours) {
 		strbuf_addf(sb,
 			Q_("Your branch is behind '%s' by %d commit, "
 			       "and can be fast-forwarded.\n",
@@ -1641,7 +1643,9 @@ int format_tracking_info(struct branch *branch, struct strbuf *sb)
 			       "and can be fast-forwarded.\n",
 			   num_theirs),
 			base, num_theirs);
-	else
+		strbuf_addf(sb,
+			_("  (use \"git pull\" to update your local branch)\n"));
+	} else {
 		strbuf_addf(sb,
 			Q_("Your branch and '%s' have diverged,\n"
 			       "and have %d and %d different commit each, "
@@ -1651,6 +1655,9 @@ int format_tracking_info(struct branch *branch, struct strbuf *sb)
 			       "respectively.\n",
 			   num_theirs),
 			base, num_ours, num_theirs);
+		strbuf_addf(sb,
+			_("  (use \"git pull\" to merge the remote branch into yours)\n"));
+	}
 	return 1;
 }
 
diff --git a/t/t2020-checkout-detach.sh b/t/t2020-checkout-detach.sh
index 8100537..5d68729 100755
--- a/t/t2020-checkout-detach.sh
+++ b/t/t2020-checkout-detach.sh
@@ -151,6 +151,7 @@ test_expect_success 'checkout does not warn leaving reachable commit' '
 
 cat >expect <<'EOF'
 Your branch is behind 'master' by 1 commit, and can be fast-forwarded.
+  (use "git pull" to update your local branch)
 EOF
 test_expect_success 'tracking count is accurate after orphan check' '
 	reset &&
-- 
1.8.0.319.g8abfee4

Re: [PATCH] status: add advice on how to push/pull to tracking branch

[Junio C Hamano]

Matthieu Moy <Matthieu.Moy@imag.fr> writes:

> Signed-off-by: Matthieu Moy <Matthieu.Moy@imag.fr>
> ---
> I thought this was obvious enough not to deserve an advice, but a
> colleague of mine had troubles with "commited but not pushed" changes.
> Maybe an additional advice would have helped. After all, it's an
> advice, and can be deactivated ...
>
>  remote.c                   | 13 ++++++++++---
>  t/t2020-checkout-detach.sh |  1 +
>  2 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/remote.c b/remote.c
> index 04fd9ea..9c19689 100644
> --- a/remote.c
> +++ b/remote.c
> @@ -1627,13 +1627,15 @@ int format_tracking_info(struct branch *branch, struct strbuf *sb)
>  
>  	base = branch->merge[0]->dst;
>  	base = shorten_unambiguous_ref(base, 0);
> -	if (!num_theirs)
> +	if (!num_theirs) {
>  		strbuf_addf(sb,
>  			Q_("Your branch is ahead of '%s' by %d commit.\n",
>  			   "Your branch is ahead of '%s' by %d commits.\n",
>  			   num_ours),
>  			base, num_ours);
> -	else if (!num_ours)
> +		strbuf_addf(sb,
> +			_("  (use \"git push\" to publish your local commits)\n"));
> +	} else if (!num_ours) {

The message should make it clear that the two words in double quotes
only hint what command is used to "publish your local commits" and
not to be taken as literal "here is what you exactly would type",
but I do not think that is what I would get from this if I were a
total newbie who would need this advise.

It is even more true given that this is showing an arbitrary, and
more likely than not a non-current branch, especially with the
recent move from "matching" to "simple" where a naive use of "git
push" is to push the branch that is currently checked out and no
other branches.

	see 'git push --help' to learn how to publish your local commits

might be more appropriate.

> +		strbuf_addf(sb,
> +			_("  (use \"git pull\" to update your local branch)\n"));
> +	} else {

Likewise, and the non-currentness of the branch being described is
even worse in here, as unlike "git push" that can still be used to
push a non-current branch, "git pull" is never to be used to update
local branch that is not current, which means the advice must mention
"git checkout" somewhere.

Re: [PATCH] status: add advice on how to push/pull to tracking branch

[Matthieu Moy]

Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> writes:

>> -	if (!num_theirs)
>> +	if (!num_theirs) {
>>  		strbuf_addf(sb,
>>  			Q_("Your branch is ahead of '%s' by %d commit.\n",
>>  			   "Your branch is ahead of '%s' by %d commits.\n",
>>  			   num_ours),
>>  			base, num_ours);
>> -	else if (!num_ours)
>> +		strbuf_addf(sb,
>> +			_("  (use \"git push\" to publish your local commits)\n"));
>> +	} else if (!num_ours) {
>
> The message should make it clear that the two words in double quotes
> only hint what command is used to "publish your local commits" and
> not to be taken as literal "here is what you exactly would type",
> but I do not think that is what I would get from this if I were a
> total newbie who would need this advise.
>
> It is even more true given that this is showing an arbitrary, and
> more likely than not a non-current branch, especially with the
> recent move from "matching" to "simple" where a naive use of "git
> push" is to push the branch that is currently checked out and no
> other branches.

I don't understand what you mean by "non-current". If you mean a local
branch not pointed to by HEAD, then I don't understand the remark, as
the message is shown by "git status" (looking more closely, it is also
shown by "git checkout", but after switching branch so also showing a
message about the current branch) and precisely talks about the current
branch. If you mean that the upsteam branch has a name different from
the local one, then with "push.default=simple", argumentless "git push"
will fail and show a detailed explanation to the user, which I find
acceptable.

I can tweak the advice to show the full "git push" command with
push.default=matching/current, but first, I'd like to understand your
remark.

>> +		strbuf_addf(sb,
>> +			_("  (use \"git pull\" to update your local branch)\n"));
>> +	} else {
>
> Likewise, and the non-currentness of the branch being described is
> even worse in here, as unlike "git push" that can still be used to
> push a non-current branch, "git pull" is never to be used to update
> local branch that is not current, which means the advice must mention
> "git checkout" somewhere.

I understand this remark even less. We're showing a message about the
current branch and its upstream branch. In which case would "git pull"
not do the right thing?

-- 
Matthieu Moy
http://www-verimag.imag.fr/~moy/

Re: [PATCH] status: add advice on how to push/pull to tracking branch

[Junio C Hamano]

Matthieu Moy <Matthieu.Moy@grenoble-inp.fr> writes:

> I don't understand what you mean by "non-current". If you mean a local
> branch not pointed to by HEAD, then I don't understand the remark, as
> the message is shown by "git status" (looking more closely, it is also
> shown by "git checkout", but after switching branch so also showing a
> message about the current branch) and precisely talks about the current
> branch.

Ah, Ok, I somehow thought that "branch -v" would also use this
information, and/or during my absense this function from remote.c
got linked into "git remote show" ;-)

So it is not an issue right now, but we will have to worry about the
messaging when we start using this to describe a branch that is not
currently checked out.

Re: [PATCH] status: add advice on how to push/pull to tracking branch

[Matthieu Moy]

Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> writes:

> Matthieu Moy <Matthieu.Moy@grenoble-inp.fr> writes:
>
>> I don't understand what you mean by "non-current". If you mean a local
>> branch not pointed to by HEAD, then I don't understand the remark, as
>> the message is shown by "git status" (looking more closely, it is also
>> shown by "git checkout", but after switching branch so also showing a
>> message about the current branch) and precisely talks about the current
>> branch.
>
> Ah, Ok, I somehow thought that "branch -v" would also use this
> information, and/or during my absense this function from remote.c
> got linked into "git remote show" ;-)

OK.

> So it is not an issue right now, but we will have to worry about the
> messaging when we start using this to describe a branch that is not
> currently checked out.

(Anyway, we'd have to reword it a bit: saying "Your branch ..." would be
wrong in this case)

-- 
Matthieu Moy
http://www-verimag.imag.fr/~moy/