<<def_pack,pack>>, to assist in efficiently accessing the contents of a
pack.
+[[def_pathspec]]pathspec::
+ Pattern used to specify paths.
++
+Pathspecs are used on the command line of "git ls-files", "git
+ls-tree", "git add", "git grep", "git diff", "git checkout",
+and many other commands to
+limit the scope of operations to some subset of the tree or
+worktree. See the documentation of each command for whether
+paths are relative to the current directory or toplevel. The
+pathspec syntax is as follows:
+
+* any path matches itself
+* the pathspec up to the last slash represents a
+ directory prefix. The scope of that pathspec is
+ limited to that subtree.
+* the rest of the pathspec is a pattern for the remainder
+ of the pathname. Paths relative to the directory
+ prefix will be matched against that pattern using fnmatch(3);
+ in particular, '*' and '?' _can_ match directory separators.
++
+For example, Documentation/*.jpg will match all .jpg files
+in the Documentation subtree,
+including Documentation/chapter_1/figure_1.jpg.
+
++
+A pathspec that begins with a colon `:` has special meaning. In the
+short form, the leading colon `:` is followed by zero or more "magic
+signature" letters (which optionally is terminated by another colon `:`),
+and the remainder is the pattern to match against the path. The optional
+colon that terminates the "magic signature" can be omitted if the pattern
+begins with a character that cannot be a "magic signature" and is not a
+colon.
++
+In the long form, the leading colon `:` is followed by a open
+parenthesis `(`, a comma-separated list of zero or more "magic words",
+and a close parentheses `)`, and the remainder is the pattern to match
+against the path.
++
+The "magic signature" consists of an ASCII symbol that is not
+alphanumeric.
++
+--
+top `/`;;
+ The magic word `top` (mnemonic: `/`) makes the pattern match
+ from the root of the working tree, even when you are running
+ the command from inside a subdirectory.
+--
++
+Currently only the slash `/` is recognized as the "magic signature",
+but it is envisioned that we will support more types of magic in later
+versions of git.
++
+A pathspec with only a colon means "there is no pathspec". This form
+should not be combined with other pathspec.
+
[[def_parent]]parent::
A <<def_commit_object,commit object>> contains a (possibly empty) list
of the logical predecessor(s) in the line of development, i.e. its