Subject: [GSoC PATCH v2] object-name: turn INTERPRET_BRANCH_* constants into enum values

From: Jialong Wang <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:09:42 -0400

Replace the INTERPRET_BRANCH_* preprocessor constants with enum
values and use that type where these flags are stored or passed
around.

These flags describe which kinds of branches may be considered during
branch-name interpretation, so represent them as an enum describing
branch kinds while keeping the existing bitmask semantics and
INTERPRET_BRANCH_* element names.

Signed-off-by: Jialong Wang <[email-masked]>
---
v2:
 - rename the enum type to reflect that it describes branch kinds,
   not the allowed set itself
 - keep the INTERPRET_BRANCH_* enum element names unchanged
 - wrap updated declarations and commit message more conventionally

 builtin/branch.c |  2 +-
 object-name.c    |  6 ++++--
 object-name.h    | 11 +++++++----
 refs.c           |  3 ++-
 refs.h           |  3 ++-
 5 files changed, 16 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/builtin/branch.c b/builtin/branch.c
index a1a43380d0..1572a4f9ef 100644
--- a/builtin/branch.c
+++ b/builtin/branch.c
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ static int delete_branches(int argc, const char **argv, int force, int kinds,
 	int ret = 0;
 	int remote_branch = 0;
 	struct strbuf bname = STRBUF_INIT;
-	unsigned allowed_interpret;
+	enum interpret_branch_kind allowed_interpret;
 	struct string_list refs_to_delete = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
 	struct string_list_item *item;
 	int branch_name_pos;
diff --git a/object-name.c b/object-name.c
index 7b14c3bf9b..2b2a0435fd 100644
--- a/object-name.c
+++ b/object-name.c
@@ -1660,7 +1660,8 @@ static int interpret_empty_at(const char *name, int namelen, int len, struct str
 
 static int reinterpret(struct repository *r,
 		       const char *name, int namelen, int len,
-		       struct strbuf *buf, unsigned allowed)
+		       struct strbuf *buf,
+		       enum interpret_branch_kind allowed)
 {
 	/* we have extra data, which might need further processing */
 	struct strbuf tmp = STRBUF_INIT;
@@ -1692,7 +1693,8 @@ static void set_shortened_ref(struct repository *r, struct strbuf *buf, const ch
 	free(s);
 }
 
-static int branch_interpret_allowed(const char *refname, unsigned allowed)
+static int branch_interpret_allowed(const char *refname,
+				    enum interpret_branch_kind allowed)
 {
 	if (!allowed)
 		return 1;
diff --git a/object-name.h b/object-name.h
index cda4934cd5..167a9154ea 100644
--- a/object-name.h
+++ b/object-name.h
@@ -101,9 +101,12 @@ int set_disambiguate_hint_config(const char *var, const char *value);
  * If the input was ok but there are not N branch switches in the
  * reflog, it returns 0.
  */
-#define INTERPRET_BRANCH_LOCAL (1<<0)
-#define INTERPRET_BRANCH_REMOTE (1<<1)
-#define INTERPRET_BRANCH_HEAD (1<<2)
+enum interpret_branch_kind {
+	INTERPRET_BRANCH_LOCAL = (1 << 0),
+	INTERPRET_BRANCH_REMOTE = (1 << 1),
+	INTERPRET_BRANCH_HEAD = (1 << 2),
+};
+
 struct interpret_branch_name_options {
 	/*
 	 * If "allowed" is non-zero, it is a treated as a bitfield of allowable
@@ -111,7 +114,7 @@ struct interpret_branch_name_options {
 	 * ("refs/remotes/"), or "HEAD". If no "allowed" bits are set, any expansion is
 	 * allowed, even ones to refs outside of those namespaces.
 	 */
-	unsigned allowed;
+	enum interpret_branch_kind allowed;
 
 	/*
 	 * If ^{upstream} or ^{push} (or equivalent) is requested, and the
diff --git a/refs.c b/refs.c
index 6fb8f9d10c..18b28db6d4 100644
--- a/refs.c
+++ b/refs.c
@@ -740,7 +740,8 @@ static char *substitute_branch_name(struct repository *r,
 	return NULL;
 }
 
-void copy_branchname(struct strbuf *sb, const char *name, unsigned allowed)
+void copy_branchname(struct strbuf *sb, const char *name,
+		     enum interpret_branch_kind allowed)
 {
 	int len = strlen(name);
 	struct interpret_branch_name_options options = {
diff --git a/refs.h b/refs.h
index d98c1fc591..d65de6ab5f 100644
--- a/refs.h
+++ b/refs.h
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #ifndef REFS_H
 #define REFS_H
 
+#include "object-name.h"
 #include "commit.h"
 #include "repository.h"
 #include "repo-settings.h"
@@ -225,7 +226,7 @@ char *repo_default_branch_name(struct repository *r, int quiet);
  * repo_interpret_branch_name() for details.
  */
 void copy_branchname(struct strbuf *sb, const char *name,
-		       unsigned allowed);
+		     enum interpret_branch_kind allowed);
 
 /*
  * Like copy_branchname() above, but confirm that the result is
-- 
2.51.0