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Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/git-format-patch.txt | 54 |
1 files changed, 54 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt b/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt index 6821441d7d..1d790f1af5 100644 --- a/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt +++ b/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt @@ -265,6 +265,11 @@ you can use `--suffix=-patch` to get `0001-description-of-my-change-patch`. Output an all-zero hash in each patch's From header instead of the hash of the commit. +--base=<commit>:: + Record the base tree information to identify the state the + patch series applies to. See the BASE TREE INFORMATION section + below for details. + --root:: Treat the revision argument as a <revision range>, even if it is just a single commit (that would normally be treated as a @@ -520,6 +525,55 @@ This should help you to submit patches inline using KMail. 5. Back in the compose window: add whatever other text you wish to the message, complete the addressing and subject fields, and press send. +BASE TREE INFORMATION +--------------------- + +The base tree information block is used for maintainers or third party +testers to know the exact state the patch series applies to. It consists +of the 'base commit', which is a well-known commit that is part of the +stable part of the project history everybody else works off of, and zero +or more 'prerequisite patches', which are well-known patches in flight +that is not yet part of the 'base commit' that need to be applied on top +of 'base commit' in topological order before the patches can be applied. + +The 'base commit' is shown as "base-commit: " followed by the 40-hex of +the commit object name. A 'prerequisite patch' is shown as +"prerequisite-patch-id: " followed by the 40-hex 'patch id', which can +be obtained by passing the patch through the `git patch-id --stable` +command. + +Imagine that on top of the public commit P, you applied well-known +patches X, Y and Z from somebody else, and then built your three-patch +series A, B, C, the history would be like: + +................................................ +---P---X---Y---Z---A---B---C +................................................ + +With `git format-patch --base=P -3 C` (or variants thereof, e.g. with +`--cover-letter` of using `Z..C` instead of `-3 C` to specify the +range), the base tree information block is shown at the end of the +first message the command outputs (either the first patch, or the +cover letter), like this: + +------------ +base-commit: P +prerequisite-patch-id: X +prerequisite-patch-id: Y +prerequisite-patch-id: Z +------------ + +For non-linear topology, such as + +................................................ +---P---X---A---M---C + \ / + Y---Z---B +................................................ + +You can also use `git format-patch --base=P -3 C` to generate patches +for A, B and C, and the identifiers for P, X, Y, Z are appended at the +end of the first message. EXAMPLES -------- |