CODEWITHSUNDEEP
gitmerge
user1745356
user1745356

Reputation: 4673

changes from what file get picked when two files are merged

For instance I have a history like this 

A -> B -> C -> F -> G ---------- feature
           \
            D -> E  -------- master

Throughout the history I have a file a.txt with the first line in it, say, "sometext". On commit G I decide to remove "sometext" and leave the first line blank. Then I merge these two branches. A new commit is formed with the first line being blank. So E contains "sometext" line and G does not. So this is a difference between branches that are being merged. How does git decide what to include in merge commit? Is it because G was made after E ?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 30

Answers (1)

Useless
Useless

Reputation: 67733

In this case, it will identify the common ancestor C of both branches, and compare the changes since that ancestor on each branch C..G vs C..E.

Since C..E doesn't touch the line, but C..G does, G's change is taken. If both branches changed the same line in different ways, it would ask you to resolve the conflict manually.

This is a 3-way merge: see this old question for some discussion, and the Merge Strategies section in the documentation for more merge options.

Upvotes: 3

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