setup API
=========

Talk about

* setup_git_directory()
* setup_git_directory_gently()
* is_inside_git_dir()
* is_inside_work_tree()
* setup_work_tree()

(Dscho)

Pathspec
--------

See glossary-context.txt for the syntax of pathspec. In memory, a
pathspec set is represented by "struct pathspec" and is prepared by
parse_pathspec(). This function takes several arguments:

- magic_mask specifies what features that are NOT supported by the
  following code. If a user attempts to use such a feature,
  parse_pathspec() can reject it early.

- flags specifies other things that the caller wants parse_pathspec to
  perform.

- prefix and args come from cmd_* functions

get_pathspec() is obsolete and should never be used in new code.

parse_pathspec() helps catch unsupported features and reject them
politely. At a lower level, different pathspec-related functions may
not support the same set of features. Such pathspec-sensitive
functions are guarded with GUARD_PATHSPEC(), which will die in an
unfriendly way when an unsupported feature is requested.

The command designers are supposed to make sure that GUARD_PATHSPEC()
never dies. They have to make sure all unsupported features are caught
by parse_pathspec(), not by GUARD_PATHSPEC. grepping GUARD_PATHSPEC()
should give the designers all pathspec-sensitive codepaths and what
features they support.

A similar process is applied when a new pathspec magic is added. The
designer lifts the GUARD_PATHSPEC restriction in the functions that
support the new magic. At the same time (s)he has to make sure this
new feature will be caught at parse_pathspec() in commands that cannot
handle the new magic in some cases. grepping parse_pathspec() should
help.