Re: [boost] [git] Write permission to branch

Subject: Re: [boost] [git] Write permission to branch
From: Edward Diener (eldiener_at_[hidden])
Date: 2013-12-08 18:00:46

On 12/8/2013 4:49 PM, Bjørn Roald wrote:
> On 12/08/2013 08:35 PM, Edward Diener wrote:
>> On 12/8/2013 1:22 PM, Bjørn Roald wrote:
>>> On 12/08/2013 05:54 PM, John Maddock wrote:
>>> ... unless there's some way to convert local
>>>> modifications into a fork?
>>>
>>> The fork on GitHub is just a clone of the repository, much like the one
>>> you have changes in. It is a so-called /bare/ repository, i.e.: there
>>> are no checked out files - just the  .git folder content. Since you are
>>> the owner of this repository, you can push your feature/whatever branch
>>> changes to it.
>>
>> I created a local branch of a particular Boost repository giving it a
>> descriptive name. This was successful.
>>
>> I then tried creating a repository in GitHub under my own name. This was
>> successful and a 'master' branch was created for it. The 'master' branch
>> is empty except for a readme.md file which GitHub commits to it.
>>
>> I then tried pushing my local branch to my GitHub url/master remote just
>> created but was not able to do this. I am using TortoiseGit on Windows.
>> For whatever reason TortoiseGit refuses to recognize that I have a
>> 'master' branch of my new GitHub repository. It says:
>>
>> "Don't know what will push because unknown branch 'myremote/master'"
>
> Are you using TortoiseGit, in that case see if there is a window showing
> the git command lines it uses.  Post them.

I tried the push command anyway where the remote url has the name 
"myremote" for the URL https://github.com/eldiener/mplsun.git. The local 
branch is called "suncc" ( it is actually a Sun compiler fix for Boost 
MPL on its own branch ). The git command shown is:

git.exe push -v --progress  "myremote" suncc:master

The result is:

Pushing to https://github.com/eldiener/mplsun.git
To https://github.com/eldiener/mplsun.git
! [rejected]        suncc -> master (non-fast-forward)
error: failed to push some refs to 'https://github.com/eldiener/mplsun.git'
hint: Updates were rejected because a pushed branch tip is behind its remote
hint: counterpart. Check out this branch and merge the remote changes
hint: (e.g. 'git pull') before pushing again.
hint: See the 'Note about fast-forwards' in 'git push --help' for details

What does it mean that a "pushed branch tip is behind its remote" ? All 
I am trying to do is 'push' this repository onto an almost entirely 
empty remote repository. How hard can that be with git ?

>
> I think you get that error form some TortoiseGit layer, does not look
> like something I expect from the comand line push, but I may be wrong.
> In any case the branch 'myremote/master' part give me a hunch of what
> the problem is. If myremote is a reference to your remote repository
> fork at GitHub, then git expect:
>
> git push myremote master
>
> not
>
> git push myremote/master
>
> which uses the default remote, probably origin, so it tries
>
> git push origin myremote/master
>
> wich causes it to think myremote/master is a branch you want to push but
> it can't find.
>
> HTH
> --
> Bjørn
>
>
>> Obviously, being a git novice, I am missing something about git. I
>> thought one could push any local repository to any remote repository as
>> long as one had write permission to the remote repository.
>
> You should be able to, does not necessarily make any sense though ;-)