2 files changed, 73 insertions, 20 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/merge-strategies.txt b/Documentation/merge-strategies.txt
index 8676e26ca2..9cf88e2bb5 100644
--- a/Documentation/merge-strategies.txt
+++ b/Documentation/merge-strategies.txt
@@ -40,6 +40,28 @@ the other tree did, declaring 'our' history contains all that happened in it.
 theirs;;
 	This is opposite of 'ours'.
 
+patience;;
+	With this option, 'merge-recursive' spends a little extra time
+	to avoid mismerges that sometimes occur due to unimportant
+	matching lines (e.g., braces from distinct functions).  Use
+	this when the branches to be merged have diverged wildly.
+	See also linkgit:git-diff[1] `--patience`.
+
+ignore-space-change;;
+ignore-all-space;;
+ignore-space-at-eol;;
+	Treats lines with the indicated type of whitespace change as
+	unchanged for the sake of a three-way merge.  Whitespace
+	changes mixed with other changes to a line are not ignored.
+	See also linkgit:git-diff[1] `-b`, `-w`, and
+	`--ignore-space-at-eol`.
++
+* If 'their' version only introduces whitespace changes to a line,
+  'our' version is used;
+* If 'our' version introduces whitespace changes but 'their'
+  version includes a substantial change, 'their' version is used;
+* Otherwise, the merge proceeds in the usual way.
+
 renormalize;;
 	This runs a virtual check-out and check-in of all three stages
 	of a file when resolving a three-way merge.  This option is
diff --git a/Documentation/technical/api-merge.txt b/Documentation/technical/api-merge.txt
index a7e050bb7a..9dc1bed768 100644
--- a/Documentation/technical/api-merge.txt
+++ b/Documentation/technical/api-merge.txt
@@ -17,6 +17,40 @@ responsible for a few things.
    path-specific merge drivers (specified in `.gitattributes`)
    into account.
 
+Data structures
+---------------
+
+* `mmbuffer_t`, `mmfile_t`
+
+These store data usable for use by the xdiff backend, for writing and
+for reading, respectively.  See `xdiff/xdiff.h` for the definitions
+and `diff.c` for examples.
+
+* `struct ll_merge_options`
+
+This describes the set of options the calling program wants to affect
+the operation of a low-level (single file) merge.  Some options:
+
+`virtual_ancestor`::
+	Behave as though this were part of a merge between common
+	ancestors in a recursive merge.
+	If a helper program is specified by the
+	`[merge "<driver>"] recursive` configuration, it will
+	be used (see linkgit:gitattributes[5]).
+
+`variant`::
+	Resolve local conflicts automatically in favor
+	of one side or the other (as in 'git merge-file'
+	`--ours`/`--theirs`/`--union`).  Can be `0`,
+	`XDL_MERGE_FAVOR_OURS`, `XDL_MERGE_FAVOR_THEIRS`, or
+	`XDL_MERGE_FAVOR_UNION`.
+
+`renormalize`::
+	Resmudge and clean the "base", "theirs" and "ours" files
+	before merging.  Use this when the merge is likely to have
+	overlapped with a change in smudge/clean or end-of-line
+	normalization rules.
+
 Low-level (single file) merge
 -----------------------------
 
@@ -28,15 +62,24 @@ Low-level (single file) merge
 	`.git/info/attributes` into account.  Returns 0 for a
 	clean merge.
 
-The caller:
+Calling sequence:
 
-1. allocates an mmbuffer_t variable for the result;
-2. allocates and fills variables with the file's original content
-   and two modified versions (using `read_mmfile`, for example);
-3. calls ll_merge();
-4. reads the output from result_buf.ptr and result_buf.size;
-5. releases buffers when finished (free(ancestor.ptr); free(ours.ptr);
-   free(theirs.ptr); free(result_buf.ptr);).
+* Prepare a `struct ll_merge_options` to record options.
+  If you have no special requests, skip this and pass `NULL`
+  as the `opts` parameter to use the default options.
+
+* Allocate an mmbuffer_t variable for the result.
+
+* Allocate and fill variables with the file's original content
+  and two modified versions (using `read_mmfile`, for example).
+
+* Call `ll_merge()`.
+
+* Read the merged content from `result_buf.ptr` and `result_buf.size`.
+
+* Release buffers when finished.  A simple
+  `free(ancestor.ptr); free(ours.ptr); free(theirs.ptr);
+  free(result_buf.ptr);` will do.
 
 If the modifications do not merge cleanly, `ll_merge` will return a
 nonzero value and `result_buf` will generally include a description of
@@ -47,18 +90,6 @@ The `ancestor_label`, `our_label`, and `their_label` parameters are
 used to label the different sides of a conflict if the merge driver
 supports this.
 
-The `flag` parameter is a bitfield:
-
- - The `LL_OPT_VIRTUAL_ANCESTOR` bit indicates whether this is an
-   internal merge to consolidate ancestors for a recursive merge.
-
- - The `LL_OPT_FAVOR_MASK` bits allow local conflicts to be automatically
-   resolved in favor of one side or the other (as in 'git merge-file'
-   `--ours`/`--theirs`/`--union`).
-   They can be populated by `create_ll_flag`, whose argument can be
-   `XDL_MERGE_FAVOR_OURS`, `XDL_MERGE_FAVOR_THEIRS`, or
-   `XDL_MERGE_FAVOR_UNION`.
-
 Everything else
 ---------------