refspec: add support for negative refspecs

Both fetch and push support pattern refspecs which allow fetching or
pushing references that match a specific pattern. Because these patterns
are globs, they have somewhat limited ability to express more complex
situations.

For example, suppose you wish to fetch all branches from a remote except
for a specific one. To allow this, you must setup a set of refspecs
which match only the branches you want. Because refspecs are either
explicit name matches, or simple globs, many patterns cannot be
expressed.

Add support for a new type of refspec, referred to as "negative"
refspecs. These are prefixed with a '^' and mean "exclude any ref
matching this refspec". They can only have one "side" which always
refers to the source. During a fetch, this refers to the name of the ref
on the remote. During a push, this refers to the name of the ref on the
local side.

With negative refspecs, users can express more complex patterns. For
example:

 git fetch origin refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/* ^refs/heads/dontwant

will fetch all branches on origin into remotes/origin, but will exclude
fetching the branch named dontwant.

Refspecs today are commutative, meaning that order doesn't expressly
matter. Rather than forcing an implied order, negative refspecs will
always be applied last. That is, in order to match, a ref must match at
least one positive refspec, and match none of the negative refspecs.
This is similar to how negative pathspecs work.

Signed-off-by: Jacob Keller <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <[email protected]>

Author: jacob-keller

Documentation/pull-fetch-param.txt

@@ -30,6 +30,22 @@ The colon can be omitted when <dst> is empty.  <src> is
 typically a ref, but it can also be a fully spelled hex object
 name.
 +
+A <refspec> may contain a `*` in its <src> to indicate a simple pattern
+match. Such a refspec functions like a glob that matches any ref with the
+same prefix. A pattern <refspec> must have a `*` in both the <src> and
+<dst>. It will map refs to the destination by replacing the `*` with the
+contents matched from the source.
++
+If a refspec is prefixed by `^`, it will be interpreted as a negative
+refspec. Rather than specifying which refs to fetch or which local refs to
+update, such a refspec will instead specify refs to exclude. A ref will be
+considered to match if it matches at least one positive refspec, and does
+not match any negative refspec. Negative refspecs can be useful to restrict
+the scope of a pattern refspec so that it will not include specific refs.
+Negative refspecs can themselves be pattern refspecs. However, they may only
+contain a <src> and do not specify a <dst>. Fully spelled out hex object
+names are also not supported.
++
 `tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`;
 it requests fetching everything up to the given tag.
 +

builtin/fetch.c

@@ -530,6 +530,16 @@ static struct ref *get_ref_map(struct remote *remote,
 		tail = &rm->next;
 	}
 
+	/*
+	 * apply negative refspecs first, before we remove duplicates. This is
+	 * necessary as negative refspecs might remove an otherwise conflicting
+	 * duplicate.
+	 */
+	if (rs->nr)
+		ref_map = apply_negative_refspecs(ref_map, rs);
+	else
+		ref_map = apply_negative_refspecs(ref_map, &remote->fetch);
+
 	ref_map = ref_remove_duplicates(ref_map);
 
 	refname_hash_init(&existing_refs);

refspec.c

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ static struct refspec_item s_tag_refspec = {
 	1,
 	0,
 	0,
+	0,
 	"refs/tags/*",
 	"refs/tags/*"
 };
@@ -32,10 +33,17 @@ static int parse_refspec(struct refspec_item *item, const char *refspec, int fet
 	if (*lhs == '+') {
 		item->force = 1;
 		lhs++;
+	} else if (*lhs == '^') {
+		item->negative = 1;
+		lhs++;
 	}
 
 	rhs = strrchr(lhs, ':');
 
+	/* negative refspecs only have one side */
+	if (item->negative && rhs)
+		return 0;
+
 	/*
 	 * Before going on, special case ":" (or "+:") as a refspec
 	 * for pushing matching refs.
@@ -55,7 +63,7 @@ static int parse_refspec(struct refspec_item *item, const char *refspec, int fet
 
 	llen = (rhs ? (rhs - lhs - 1) : strlen(lhs));
 	if (1 <= llen && memchr(lhs, '*', llen)) {
-		if ((rhs && !is_glob) || (!rhs && fetch))
+		if ((rhs && !is_glob) || (!rhs && !item->negative && fetch))
 			return 0;
 		is_glob = 1;
 	} else if (rhs && is_glob) {
@@ -66,6 +74,28 @@ static int parse_refspec(struct refspec_item *item, const char *refspec, int fet
 	item->src = xstrndup(lhs, llen);
 	flags = REFNAME_ALLOW_ONELEVEL | (is_glob ? REFNAME_REFSPEC_PATTERN : 0);
 
+	if (item->negative) {
+		struct object_id unused;
+
+		/*
+		 * Negative refspecs only have a LHS, which indicates a ref
+		 * (or pattern of refs) to exclude from other matches. This
+		 * can either be a simple ref, or a glob pattern. Exact sha1
+		 * match is not currently supported.
+		 */
+		if (!*item->src)
+			return 0; /* negative refspecs must not be empty */
+		else if (llen == the_hash_algo->hexsz && !get_oid_hex(item->src, &unused))
+			return 0; /* negative refpsecs cannot be exact sha1 */
+		else if (!check_refname_format(item->src, flags))
+			; /* valid looking ref is ok */
+		else
+			return 0;
+
+		/* the other rules below do not apply to negative refspecs */
+		return 1;
+	}
+
 	if (fetch) {
 		struct object_id unused;
 
@@ -209,7 +239,7 @@ void refspec_ref_prefixes(const struct refspec *rs,
 		const struct refspec_item *item = &rs->items[i];
 		const char *prefix = NULL;
 
-		if (item->exact_sha1)
+		if (item->exact_sha1 || item->negative)
 			continue;
 		if (rs->fetch == REFSPEC_FETCH)
 			prefix = item->src;

refspec.h

@@ -5,12 +5,13 @@
 extern const struct refspec_item *tag_refspec;
 
 /**
- * A struct refspec_item holds the parsed interpretation of a refspec.  If it will
- * force updates (starts with a '+'), force is true.  If it is a pattern
- * (sides end with '*') pattern is true.  src and dest are the two sides
- * (including '*' characters if present); if there is only one side, it is src,
- * and dst is NULL; if sides exist but are empty (i.e., the refspec either
- * starts or ends with ':'), the corresponding side is "".
+ * A struct refspec_item holds the parsed interpretation of a refspec.  If it
+ * will force updates (starts with a '+'), force is true.  If it is a pattern
+ * (sides end with '*') pattern is true.  If it is a negative refspec, (starts
+ * with '^'), negative is true.  src and dest are the two sides (including '*'
+ * characters if present); if there is only one side, it is src, and dst is
+ * NULL; if sides exist but are empty (i.e., the refspec either starts or ends
+ * with ':'), the corresponding side is "".
  *
  * remote_find_tracking(), given a remote and a struct refspec_item with either src
  * or dst filled out, will fill out the other such that the result is in the
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ struct refspec_item {
 	unsigned pattern : 1;
 	unsigned matching : 1;
 	unsigned exact_sha1 : 1;
+	unsigned negative : 1;
 
 	char *src;
 	char *dst;

remote.c

@@ -686,6 +686,91 @@ static int match_name_with_pattern(const char *key, const char *name,
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int refspec_match(const struct refspec_item *refspec,
+			 const char *name)
+{
+	if (refspec->pattern)
+		return match_name_with_pattern(refspec->src, name, NULL, NULL);
+
+	return !strcmp(refspec->src, name);
+}
+
+static int omit_name_by_refspec(const char *name, struct refspec *rs)
+{
+	int i;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < rs->nr; i++) {
+		if (rs->items[i].negative && refspec_match(&rs->items[i], name))
+			return 1;
+	}
+	return 0;
+}
+
+struct ref *apply_negative_refspecs(struct ref *ref_map, struct refspec *rs)
+{
+	struct ref **tail;
+
+	for (tail = &ref_map; *tail; ) {
+		struct ref *ref = *tail;
+
+		if (omit_name_by_refspec(ref->name, rs)) {
+			*tail = ref->next;
+			free(ref->peer_ref);
+			free(ref);
+		} else
+			tail = &ref->next;
+	}
+
+	return ref_map;
+}
+
+static int query_matches_negative_refspec(struct refspec *rs, struct refspec_item *query)
+{
+	int i, matched_negative = 0;
+	int find_src = !query->src;
+	struct string_list reversed = STRING_LIST_INIT_NODUP;
+	const char *needle = find_src ? query->dst : query->src;
+
+	/*
+	 * Check whether the queried ref matches any negative refpsec. If so,
+	 * then we should ultimately treat this as not matching the query at
+	 * all.
+	 *
+	 * Note that negative refspecs always match the source, but the query
+	 * item uses the destination. To handle this, we apply pattern
+	 * refspecs in reverse to figure out if the query source matches any
+	 * of the negative refspecs.
+	 */
+	for (i = 0; i < rs->nr; i++) {
+		struct refspec_item *refspec = &rs->items[i];
+		char *expn_name;
+
+		if (refspec->negative)
+			continue;
+
+		/* Note the reversal of src and dst */
+		if (refspec->pattern) {
+			const char *key = refspec->dst ? refspec->dst : refspec->src;
+			const char *value = refspec->src;
+
+			if (match_name_with_pattern(key, needle, value, &expn_name))
+				string_list_append_nodup(&reversed, expn_name);
+		} else {
+			if (!strcmp(needle, refspec->src))
+				string_list_append(&reversed, refspec->src);
+		}
+	}
+
+	for (i = 0; !matched_negative && i < reversed.nr; i++) {
+		if (omit_name_by_refspec(reversed.items[i].string, rs))
+			matched_negative = 1;
+	}
+
+	string_list_clear(&reversed, 0);
+
+	return matched_negative;
+}
+
 static void query_refspecs_multiple(struct refspec *rs,
 				    struct refspec_item *query,
 				    struct string_list *results)
@@ -696,14 +781,17 @@ static void query_refspecs_multiple(struct refspec *rs,
 	if (find_src && !query->dst)
 		BUG("query_refspecs_multiple: need either src or dst");
 
+	if (query_matches_negative_refspec(rs, query))
+		return;
+
 	for (i = 0; i < rs->nr; i++) {
 		struct refspec_item *refspec = &rs->items[i];
 		const char *key = find_src ? refspec->dst : refspec->src;
 		const char *value = find_src ? refspec->src : refspec->dst;
 		const char *needle = find_src ? query->dst : query->src;
 		char **result = find_src ? &query->src : &query->dst;
 
-		if (!refspec->dst)
+		if (!refspec->dst || refspec->negative)
 			continue;
 		if (refspec->pattern) {
 			if (match_name_with_pattern(key, needle, value, result))
@@ -724,12 +812,15 @@ int query_refspecs(struct refspec *rs, struct refspec_item *query)
 	if (find_src && !query->dst)
 		BUG("query_refspecs: need either src or dst");
 
+	if (query_matches_negative_refspec(rs, query))
+		return -1;
+
 	for (i = 0; i < rs->nr; i++) {
 		struct refspec_item *refspec = &rs->items[i];
 		const char *key = find_src ? refspec->dst : refspec->src;
 		const char *value = find_src ? refspec->src : refspec->dst;
 
-		if (!refspec->dst)
+		if (!refspec->dst || refspec->negative)
 			continue;
 		if (refspec->pattern) {
 			if (match_name_with_pattern(key, needle, value, result)) {
@@ -1058,7 +1149,7 @@ static int match_explicit(struct ref *src, struct ref *dst,
 	const char *dst_value = rs->dst;
 	char *dst_guess;
 
-	if (rs->pattern || rs->matching)
+	if (rs->pattern || rs->matching || rs->negative)
 		return 0;
 
 	matched_src = matched_dst = NULL;
@@ -1134,6 +1225,10 @@ static char *get_ref_match(const struct refspec *rs, const struct ref *ref,
 	int matching_refs = -1;
 	for (i = 0; i < rs->nr; i++) {
 		const struct refspec_item *item = &rs->items[i];
+
+		if (item->negative)
+			continue;
+
 		if (item->matching &&
 		    (matching_refs == -1 || item->force)) {
 			matching_refs = i;
@@ -1339,7 +1434,7 @@ int check_push_refs(struct ref *src, struct refspec *rs)
 	for (i = 0; i < rs->nr; i++) {
 		struct refspec_item *item = &rs->items[i];
 
-		if (item->pattern || item->matching)
+		if (item->pattern || item->matching || item->negative)
 			continue;
 
 		ret |= match_explicit_lhs(src, item, NULL, NULL);
@@ -1441,6 +1536,8 @@ int match_push_refs(struct ref *src, struct ref **dst,
 		string_list_clear(&src_ref_index, 0);
 	}
 
+	*dst = apply_negative_refspecs(*dst, rs);
+
 	if (errs)
 		return -1;
 	return 0;
@@ -1810,6 +1907,9 @@ int get_fetch_map(const struct ref *remote_refs,
 {
 	struct ref *ref_map, **rmp;
 
+	if (refspec->negative)
+		return 0;
+
 	if (refspec->pattern) {
 		ref_map = get_expanded_map(remote_refs, refspec);
 	} else {

remote.h

@@ -193,6 +193,12 @@ int resolve_remote_symref(struct ref *ref, struct ref *list);
  */
 struct ref *ref_remove_duplicates(struct ref *ref_map);
 
+/*
+ * Remove all entries in the input list which match any negative refspec in
+ * the refspec list.
+ */
+struct ref *apply_negative_refspecs(struct ref *ref_map, struct refspec *rs);
+
 int query_refspecs(struct refspec *rs, struct refspec_item *query);
 char *apply_refspecs(struct refspec *rs, const char *name);
 
@@ -205,7 +211,8 @@ void set_ref_status_for_push(struct ref *remote_refs, int send_mirror,
 /*
  * Given a list of the remote refs and the specification of things to
  * fetch, makes a (separate) list of the refs to fetch and the local
- * refs to store into.
+ * refs to store into. Note that negative refspecs are ignored here, and
+ * should be handled separately.
  *
  * *tail is the pointer to the tail pointer of the list of results
  * beforehand, and will be set to the tail pointer of the list of