Junio C Hamano <gitster@xxxxxxxxx> writes: >> That would require changing the semantics of --ff-only, so that "git >> pull --no-rebase --ff-only" doesn't make sense (as --ff-only is >> overridden by --no-rebase). > > I do not think such a conclusion follows from "we do not want to use > the 'by default force the --ff-only' when the user chooses between > merge and rebase". Specifically, I do not agree with "as --ff-only > is overridden" in your statement. Ah, sorry, I mis-read your three lines above. There are currently two ways "git pull" consolidates your work with the other history. By default, you are "pulling" work from your contributors (and that is what "pull request" means---contributors ask you to pull, and you take their work at your discretion) and the only way that makes sense is to merge their history into yours. The other is you are updating your branch by rebasing your work on top of what happend in their history. And if we introduce a third-way, i.e. "we do not handle the case where you have your own development at all, this is only to maintain pristine copy from your upstream", and repurpose "--ff-only" for that purpose, yes, what you said above does make sense. At that point, there is no reason to disagree with "as --ff-only is overridden" part of your statement---in your new world, "--ff-only" is redesigned to act that way. In retrospect, "git pull --rebase" was a UI mistake. What the other side means is totally different in the operation from what the other side is in "git pull". The former is for you to catch up with your upstream and the latter is for you, who _is_ the upstream to others, to take others work in as their upstream. If we instead introduced a separate command, say "git update", that is "fetch followed by rebase" (just like "git pull" is "fetch followed by merge"), to rebase your work on top of updated upstream, there wouldn't be a need for us to be having this discussion. It probably is water under the bridge at this point. Perhaps if somebody builds a time-machine for me, I'll go back 13 years and give my younger self this wisdom ;-)
