Re: [gentoo-dev] Odd git format-patch behavior

[Rich Freeman]

On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 2:47 AM, Ciaran McCreesh
<ciaran.mccreesh@××××××××××.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Jul 2013 22:27:31 -0400
> Rich Freeman <rich0@g.o> wrote:
>> On Mon, Jul 29, 2013 at 10:07 PM, Ulrich Mueller <ulm@g.o>
>> wrote:
>> > Is the history from the v0.26.0 tag to the tip of the branch linear?
>> > If it contains merge commits, then git format-patch / git am isn't
>> > guaranteed to work.
>>
>> There are branches.  There is obviously /A/ linear path from the tag
>> to the head (it is in the log)
>
> The log doesn't give you a linear path. Use --decorate --graph to
> avoid the illusion.

Understood.  I think we're just quipping over the definition of
"linear path" though.

If having a linear path from A to B means that these nodes are
connected and there is exactly one way to traverse the graph from A to
B then there is not a linear path.  If having a linear path from A to
B means that these nodes are connected, and thus there is at least one
way to traverse the graph from A to B without revisiting any nodes,
then there is a linear path.

Using the latter definition, a linear path exists if one node shows up
in a git log started from the other.  Using the former definition, you
need to use --decorate --graph as you suggest.

Rich