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| author |  Jonathan Nieder <jrnieder@gmail.com> | 2009-10-09 13:34:08 -0500 |
|---|---|---|
| committer |  Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> | 2009-10-09 14:54:15 -0700 |
| commit | bb35f35e67ed2fdfce1892cc9d55827b90fcb775 (patch) | |
| tree | 28bd4d73885be16c332ca88a2a0504f967b488ef /Documentation/git-branch.txt | |
| parent | Documentation: branch: update --merged description (diff) | |
| download | tgif-bb35f35e67ed2fdfce1892cc9d55827b90fcb775.tar.xz | |
Documentation: clarify branch creation
The documentation seems to assume that the starting point for a new
branch is the tip of an existing (ordinary) branch, but that is not
the most common case. More often, "git branch" is used to begin
a branch from a remote-tracking branch, a tag, or an interesting
commit (e.g. origin/pu^2). Clarify the language so it can apply
to these cases. Thanks to Sean Estabrooks for the wording.
Also add a pointer to the user's manual for the bewildered.
Signed-off-by: Jonathan Nieder <jrnieder@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/git-branch.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/git-branch.txt | 16 |
1 files changed, 8 insertions, 8 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/git-branch.txt b/Documentation/git-branch.txt index f34911fe9a..0e836809c2 100644 --- a/Documentation/git-branch.txt +++ b/Documentation/git-branch.txt @@ -30,10 +30,8 @@ commit) will be listed. With `--no-merged` only branches not merged into the named commit will be listed. If the <commit> argument is missing it defaults to 'HEAD' (i.e. the tip of the current branch). -In the command's second form, a new branch named <branchname> will be created. -It will start out with a head equal to the one given as <start-point>. -If no <start-point> is given, the branch will be created with a head -equal to that of the currently checked out branch. +The command's second form creates a new branch head named <branchname> +which points to the current 'HEAD', or <start-point> if given. Note that this will create the new branch, but it will not switch the working tree to it; use "git checkout <newbranch>" to switch to the @@ -149,9 +147,9 @@ start-point is either a local or remote branch. may restrict the characters allowed in a branch name. <start-point>:: - The new branch will be created with a HEAD equal to this. It may - be given as a branch name, a commit-id, or a tag. If this option - is omitted, the current branch is assumed. + The new branch head will point to this commit. It may be + given as a branch name, a commit-id, or a tag. If this + option is omitted, the current HEAD will be used instead. <oldbranch>:: The name of an existing branch to rename. @@ -216,7 +214,9 @@ SEE ALSO -------- linkgit:git-check-ref-format[1], linkgit:git-fetch[1], -linkgit:git-remote[1]. +linkgit:git-remote[1], +link:user-manual.html#what-is-a-branch[``Understanding history: What is +a branch?''] in the Git User's Manual. Author ------ |