Re: [PATCH] modify/delete conflict resolution overwrites untracked file

["Mike Ralphson" <mike.ralphson@gmail.com>]

2008/12/15 Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>:
> Clemens Buchacher <drizzd@aon.at> writes:
>
>> On Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 07:34:46PM -0800, Junio C Hamano wrote:
>>> merge-recursive: do not clobber untracked working tree garbage
>>>
>>> When merge-recursive wanted to create a new file in the work tree (either
>>> as the final result, or a hint for reference purposes while delete/modify
>>> conflicts), it unconditionally overwrote an untracked file in the working
>>> tree.  Be careful not to lose whatever the user has that is not tracked.
>>
>> This leaves the index in an unmerged state, however, so that a subsequent
>> git reset --hard still kills the file. And I just realized that the same
>> goes for merge-resolve. So I'd prefer to abort the merge, leave everything
>> unchanged and tell the user to clean up first.
>
> That is unfortunately asking for a moon, I am afraid.
>
> It needs a major restructuring of the code so that the recursive works
> more like the way resolve works, namely, changing the final "writeout"
> into two phase thing (the first phase making sure nothing is clobbered in
> the work tree, and then the second phase actually touching the work tree).

I wonder if another approach is workable... to read 'vulnerable'
untracked working tree files into a new (temporary, uncommittable)
stage in the index, perform whatever merging is required, then
reinstate all entries from the new stage.

Thus the merge should normally succeed under the covers, and the
previously untracked file(s) would now show up as modified against the
tracked content.

Two problems I foresee - potential loss of untracked metadata, and
ensuring we reinstate the untracked contents in all possible paths the
user can use to abort or resolve the merge.

Mike