It describes what cannot be in an unquoted path, but not what it is. Reframe it as a definition of unquoted paths. The requirement that it not start with `"` is the core element that implies the rest. The restriction that the source paths of filecopy and filerename cannot contain SP is only stated in their respective sections. Restate it in the <path> section. Signed-off-by: Thalia Archibald <thalia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> --- Documentation/git-fast-import.txt | 19 ++++++++++++------- 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-) diff --git a/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt b/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt index b2607366b9..f26d7a8571 100644 --- a/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt +++ b/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt @@ -630,18 +630,23 @@ in octal. Git only supports the following modes: In both formats `<path>` is the complete path of the file to be added (if not already existing) or modified (if already existing). -A `<path>` string must use UNIX-style directory separators (forward -slash `/`), may contain any byte other than `LF`, and must not -start with double quote (`"`). +A `<path>` can be written as unquoted bytes or a C-style quoted string: -A path can use C-style string quoting; this is accepted in all cases -and mandatory if the filename starts with double quote or contains -`LF`. In C-style quoting, the complete name should be surrounded with +When a `<path>` does not start with double quote (`"`), it is an +unquoted string and is parsed as literal bytes without any escape +sequences. However, if the filename contains `LF` or starts with double +quote, it must be written as a quoted string. Additionally, the source +`<path>` in `filecopy` or `filerename` must be quoted if it contains SP. + +A `<path>` can use C-style string quoting; this is accepted in all cases +and mandatory in the cases where the filename cannot be represented as +an unquoted string. In C-style quoting, the complete name should be surrounded with double quotes, and any `LF`, backslash, or double quote characters must be escaped by preceding them with a backslash (e.g., `"path/with\n, \\ and \" in it"`). -The value of `<path>` must be in canonical form. That is it must not: +A `<path>` must use UNIX-style directory separators (forward slash `/`) +and must be in canonical form. That is it must not: * contain an empty directory component (e.g. `foo//bar` is invalid), * end with a directory separator (e.g. `foo/` is invalid), -- 2.44.0
