Git Attribute Test

This is a contrived example of using GIT attributes.

The single biggest drawback with using gitattributes to modify files in git is that the attribute configuration cannot be part of the repository.

As a result of this, you must clone the repository, implement the configuration changes, then check the repository out again.

In this example, the required configuration is in a file called .gitconfig at the root of the repository. You will need to configure git to include the .gitconfig file by adding an include directive to the local git configuration.

For git to implement the changes, the files will needed to be checked out again. This can be done with git reset, or (depending on git version) removing the affected files (bash.1 and bash.2) and checking them out again with git checkout -- .

Testing.

Clone this repository.

There are two files in the repository, bash.1 and bash.2. Both are text files creating via man bash

The file bash.1 requires base64 to be converted back to text, while the file bash.2 requires the linux rev command to complete conversion.

git status will show a clean repository initially.

md5sum bash.? will produce the following output showing that the files have not been filtered.
```
0affa1cca7fa9e4ad27a7da9d48d735e  bash.1
f2ffc3d825c429a950794fa73afda5f1  bash.2
```
Update the local git configuration to include the local .gitconfig file at the root of the repository.
```
git config --local include.path ../.gitconfig
```
or
```
./install.sh
```
At this point, git should immediately show that the repository is modified. git status will show that the files bash.1 and bash.2 are modified.

Note: If git status does NOT show any changes, you may need to remove bash.1 and bash.2 to force git to acknowledge the change.

Re-checkout the branch

Either
```
 git checkout -- .
```
or
```
 git reset --hard HEAD
```
At this point, the two bash files should now be identical.

md5sum bash.? will now produce the following output.
```
 aeedc190af950a99fc0fc3430f341542  bash.1
 aeedc190af950a99fc0fc3430f341542  bash.2
```

Diagnostics

To assist with understanding what is happening, simply use the following command

export GIT_TRACE=1

With GIT_TRACE set, git commands will produce some diagnostics.

Example:

$ export GIT_TRACE=1
$ git status
11:09:00.243593 git.c:743               trace: exec: git-status
11:09:00.243630 run-command.c:667       trace: run_command: git-status
11:09:00.245254 git.c:455               trace: built-in: git status --short --branch
11:09:00.246283 run-command.c:667       trace: run_command: base64
11:09:00.252118 run-command.c:667       trace: run_command: rev
## main...origin/main

$ git diff
11:16:49.719979 git.c:455               trace: built-in: git diff
11:16:49.720788 run-command.c:667       trace: run_command: unset GIT_PAGER_IN_USE; LV=-c 'less -RFX -x4'
11:16:49.721352 run-command.c:667       trace: run_command: base64
11:16:49.727872 run-command.c:667       trace: run_command: base64
11:16:49.734732 run-command.c:667       trace: run_command: 'base64 -d'
11:16:49.737877 run-command.c:667       trace: run_command: cat /tmp/lgFCh1_bash.1
11:16:49.738966 run-command.c:667       trace: run_command: cat bash.1
diff --git bash.1 bash.1
index b053375..12cb285 100644
...

systemmonkey42/attribute-test

Git Attribute Test

Testing.

Diagnostics