Subject: [PATCH v2 1/5] replay: remove dead code and rearrange

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2025 16:01:47 +0100

From: Kristoffer Haugsbakk <[email-masked]>

22d99f01 (replay: add --advance or 'cherry-pick' mode, 2023-11-24) both
added `--advance` and made one of `--onto` or `--advance` mandatory.
But `determine_replay_mode` claims that there is a third alternative;
neither of `--onto` or `--advance` were given:

    if (onto_name) {
    ...
    } else if (*advance_name) {
    ...
    } else {
    ...
    }

But this is false—the fallthrough else-block is dead code.

Commit 22d99f01 was iterated upon by several people.[1] The initial
author wrote code for a sort of *guess mode*, allowing for shorter
commands when that was possible. But the next person instead made one
of the aforementioned options mandatory. In turn this code was dead on
arrival in git.git.

[1]: https://lore.kernel.org/git/[email-masked]/

Let’s remove this code. We can also join the if-block with the
condition `!*advance_name` into the `*onto` block since we do not set
`*advance_name` in this function. It only looked like we might set it
since the dead code has this line:

    *advance_name = xstrdup_or_null(last_key);

Let’s also rename the function since we do not determine
the replay mode here. We simply populate data structures.

Note that there might be more dead code caused by this *guess mode*.
We only concern ourselves with this function for now.

Helped-by: Elijah Newren <[email-masked]>
Signed-off-by: Kristoffer Haugsbakk <[email-masked]>
---

Notes (series):
    v2: [new]
    
    See the link in the commit message.
    
    Not strictly needed for this series but I think it makes sense to fix it
    here.

 builtin/replay.c | 70 +++++++++++-------------------------------------
 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 54 deletions(-)

diff --git a/builtin/replay.c b/builtin/replay.c
index 6172c8aacc9..54849f65c87 100644
--- a/builtin/replay.c
+++ b/builtin/replay.c
@@ -154,16 +154,16 @@ static void get_ref_information(struct repository *repo,
 
 		free(fullname);
 	}
 }
 
-static void determine_replay_mode(struct repository *repo,
-				  struct rev_cmdline_info *cmd_info,
-				  const char *onto_name,
-				  char **advance_name,
-				  struct commit **onto,
-				  struct strset **update_refs)
+static void populate_for_onto_or_advance_mode(struct repository *repo,
+					      struct rev_cmdline_info *cmd_info,
+					      const char *onto_name,
+					      char **advance_name,
+					      struct commit **onto,
+					      struct strset **update_refs)
 {
 	struct ref_info rinfo;
 
 	get_ref_information(repo, cmd_info, &rinfo);
 	if (!rinfo.positive_refexprs)
@@ -174,69 +174,30 @@ static void determine_replay_mode(struct repository *repo,
 	if (onto_name) {
 		*onto = peel_committish(repo, onto_name);
 		if (rinfo.positive_refexprs <
 		    strset_get_size(&rinfo.positive_refs))
 			die(_("all positive revisions given must be references"));
-	} else if (*advance_name) {
+		*update_refs = xcalloc(1, sizeof(**update_refs));
+		**update_refs = rinfo.positive_refs;
+		memset(&rinfo.positive_refs, 0, sizeof(**update_refs));
+	} else {
 		struct object_id oid;
 		char *fullname = NULL;
 
+		if (!*advance_name)
+			BUG("expected either onto_name or *advance_name in this function");
+
 		*onto = peel_committish(repo, *advance_name);
 		if (repo_dwim_ref(repo, *advance_name, strlen(*advance_name),
 			     &oid, &fullname, 0) == 1) {
 			free(*advance_name);
 			*advance_name = fullname;
 		} else {
 			die(_("argument to --advance must be a reference"));
 		}
 		if (rinfo.positive_refexprs > 1)
 			die(_("cannot advance target with multiple sources because ordering would be ill-defined"));
-	} else {
-		int positive_refs_complete = (
-			rinfo.positive_refexprs ==
-			strset_get_size(&rinfo.positive_refs));
-		int negative_refs_complete = (
-			rinfo.negative_refexprs ==
-			strset_get_size(&rinfo.negative_refs));
-		/*
-		 * We need either positive_refs_complete or
-		 * negative_refs_complete, but not both.
-		 */
-		if (rinfo.negative_refexprs > 0 &&
-		    positive_refs_complete == negative_refs_complete)
-			die(_("cannot implicitly determine whether this is an --advance or --onto operation"));
-		if (negative_refs_complete) {
-			struct hashmap_iter iter;
-			struct strmap_entry *entry;
-			const char *last_key = NULL;
-
-			if (rinfo.negative_refexprs == 0)
-				die(_("all positive revisions given must be references"));
-			else if (rinfo.negative_refexprs > 1)
-				die(_("cannot implicitly determine whether this is an --advance or --onto operation"));
-			else if (rinfo.positive_refexprs > 1)
-				die(_("cannot advance target with multiple source branches because ordering would be ill-defined"));
-
-			/* Only one entry, but we have to loop to get it */
-			strset_for_each_entry(&rinfo.negative_refs,
-					      &iter, entry) {
-				last_key = entry->key;
-			}
-
-			free(*advance_name);
-			*advance_name = xstrdup_or_null(last_key);
-		} else { /* positive_refs_complete */
-			if (rinfo.negative_refexprs > 1)
-				die(_("cannot implicitly determine correct base for --onto"));
-			if (rinfo.negative_refexprs == 1)
-				*onto = rinfo.onto;
-		}
-	}
-	if (!*advance_name) {
-		*update_refs = xcalloc(1, sizeof(**update_refs));
-		**update_refs = rinfo.positive_refs;
-		memset(&rinfo.positive_refs, 0, sizeof(**update_refs));
 	}
 	strset_clear(&rinfo.negative_refs);
 	strset_clear(&rinfo.positive_refs);
 }
 
@@ -384,12 +345,13 @@ int cmd_replay(int argc,
 			  "'%s' bit in 'struct rev_info' will be forced"),
 			"simplify_history");
 		revs.simplify_history = 0;
 	}
 
-	determine_replay_mode(repo, &revs.cmdline, onto_name, &advance_name,
-			      &onto, &update_refs);
+	populate_for_onto_or_advance_mode(repo, &revs.cmdline,
+					  onto_name, &advance_name,
+					  &onto, &update_refs);
 
 	if (!onto) /* FIXME: Should handle replaying down to root commit */
 		die("Replaying down to root commit is not supported yet!");
 
 	if (prepare_revision_walk(&revs) < 0) {
-- 
2.52.0.10.g08704017180