Subject: Re: [PATCH 0/9] Allow overriding the default name of the default branch

From: Junio C Hamano <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2020 16:11:59 -0700

"Johannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget" <[email-masked]>
writes:

> A growing number of open source projects aims to avoid the branch name 
> master due to its negative connotation. See [1] for an existing discussion
> on this. The links [2], [3], and [4] describe community-driven ways for
> users to rename their default branches or use template edits to set a new
> default branch name.

I scanned the series quickly and the patches seem to cover all the
places I was aware of that has the hard-coded knowledge of the
default branch name being 'master'.  Looking good.

> This series DOES NOT change the default automatically, but only provides an
> opt-in mechanism for interested users. It also presents a way forward for
> such a transition, if and when we decide to do so. Specifically, the new
> GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_BRANCH_NAME environment variable could be used to update
> test scripts on an individual basis instead of all-at-once.

Yes.  I've been thinking about a way that does not hurt workflows
used in existing projects while allowing a "git init" that is run to
create a new repository by a new user who does not have any special
customization in ~/.gitconfig to use the branch name that replaces
the 'master' (I do not mind changing away from 'master', but I am
not yet convinced it should be 'main', by the way---the actual
choice of the final name does not matter at this point of the design
of backward compatibility plan).  

I think "git init" that is creating a new repository (iow, do not do
anything when reinitializing an existing repostiory) can

 - look at config.defaultBranchName in /etc/gitconfig or
   ~/.gitconfig before initializing the per-repository config in
   $GIT_DIR/config it just created (or it is about to create).

 - if there is no config.defaultBranchName configured, then set the
   per-repository configuration to 'main' in the per-repository
   configuration.  Otherwise do not do anything.

And then we make sure Don's git_default_branch_name() works this
way:

 (0) if there is config.defaultBranchName in relevant config file
     (i.e. /etc/gitconfig, ~/.gitconfig or per-repo config), use the
     specified name.

 (1) otherwise use 'master' (not 'main').

That way, an existing repository will keep using 'master' unless the
user shows the preference (and accepts responsibilities for possible
fallouts) in ~/.gitconfig or the repository's .git/config, while a
new repository created by a user who does not show any particular
preference will use 'main'.