Merge branch 'nd/sparse'

* nd/sparse: (25 commits)
  t7002: test for not using external grep on skip-worktree paths
  t7002: set test prerequisite "external-grep" if supported
  grep: do not do external grep on skip-worktree entries
  commit: correctly respect skip-worktree bit
  ie_match_stat(): do not ignore skip-worktree bit with CE_MATCH_IGNORE_VALID
  tests: rename duplicate t1009
  sparse checkout: inhibit empty worktree
  Add tests for sparse checkout
  read-tree: add --no-sparse-checkout to disable sparse checkout support
  unpack-trees(): ignore worktree check outside checkout area
  unpack_trees(): apply $GIT_DIR/info/sparse-checkout to the final index
  unpack-trees(): "enable" sparse checkout and load $GIT_DIR/info/sparse-checkout
  unpack-trees.c: generalize verify_* functions
  unpack-trees(): add CE_WT_REMOVE to remove on worktree alone
  Introduce "sparse checkout"
  dir.c: export excluded_1() and add_excludes_from_file_1()
  excluded_1(): support exclude files in index
  unpack-trees(): carry skip-worktree bit over in merged_entry()
  Read .gitignore from index if it is skip-worktree
  Avoid writing to buffer in add_excludes_from_file_1()
  ...

Conflicts:
	.gitignore
	Documentation/config.txt
	Documentation/git-update-index.txt
	Makefile
	entry.c
	t/t7002-grep.sh

1 files changed, 51 insertions, 1 deletions

diff --git a/Documentation/git-read-tree.txt b/Documentation/git-read-tree.txt
index a10ce4ba40..d6faa14149 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-read-tree.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-read-tree.txt
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 --------
 'git read-tree' [[-m [--trivial] [--aggressive] | --reset | --prefix=<prefix>]
 		[-u [--exclude-per-directory=<gitignore>] | -i]]
-		[--index-output=<file>]
+		[--index-output=<file>] [--no-sparse-checkout]
 		<tree-ish1> [<tree-ish2> [<tree-ish3>]]
 
 
@@ -110,6 +110,10 @@ OPTIONS
 	directories the index file and index output file are
 	located in.
 
+--no-sparse-checkout::
+	Disable sparse checkout support even if `core.sparseCheckout`
+	is true.
+
 <tree-ish#>::
 	The id of the tree object(s) to be read/merged.
 
@@ -360,6 +364,52 @@ middle of doing, and when your working tree is ready (i.e. you
 have finished your work-in-progress), attempt the merge again.
 
 
+Sparse checkout
+---------------
+
+"Sparse checkout" allows to sparsely populate working directory.
+It uses skip-worktree bit (see linkgit:git-update-index[1]) to tell
+Git whether a file on working directory is worth looking at.
+
+"git read-tree" and other merge-based commands ("git merge", "git
+checkout"...) can help maintaining skip-worktree bitmap and working
+directory update. `$GIT_DIR/info/sparse-checkout` is used to
+define the skip-worktree reference bitmap. When "git read-tree" needs
+to update working directory, it will reset skip-worktree bit in index
+based on this file, which uses the same syntax as .gitignore files.
+If an entry matches a pattern in this file, skip-worktree will be
+set on that entry. Otherwise, skip-worktree will be unset.
+
+Then it compares the new skip-worktree value with the previous one. If
+skip-worktree turns from unset to set, it will add the corresponding
+file back. If it turns from set to unset, that file will be removed.
+
+While `$GIT_DIR/info/sparse-checkout` is usually used to specify what
+files are in. You can also specify what files are _not_ in, using
+negate patterns. For example, to remove file "unwanted":
+
+----------------
+*
+!unwanted
+----------------
+
+Another tricky thing is fully repopulating working directory when you
+no longer want sparse checkout. You cannot just disable "sparse
+checkout" because skip-worktree are still in the index and you working
+directory is still sparsely populated. You should re-populate working
+directory with the `$GIT_DIR/info/sparse-checkout` file content as
+follows:
+
+----------------
+*
+----------------
+
+Then you can disable sparse checkout. Sparse checkout support in "git
+read-tree" and similar commands is disabled by default. You need to
+turn `core.sparseCheckout` on in order to have sparse checkout
+support.
+
+
 SEE ALSO
 --------
 linkgit:git-write-tree[1]; linkgit:git-ls-files[1];