SYNOPSIS
--------
-'git-rev-list' [ *--max-count*=number ] [ *--max-age*=timestamp ] [ *--min-age*=timestamp ] [ *--merge-order* [ *--show-breaks* ] ] <commit>
+'git-rev-list' [ *--max-count*=number ] [ *--max-age*=timestamp ] [ *--min-age*=timestamp ] [ *--bisect* ] [ *--pretty* ] [ *--objects* ] [ *--merge-order* [ *--show-breaks* ] ] <commit> [ <commit> ...] [ ^<commit> ...]
DESCRIPTION
-----------
Lists commit objects in reverse chronological order starting at the
-given commit, taking ancestry relationship into account. This is
+given commit(s), taking ancestry relationship into account. This is
useful to produce human-readable log output.
-If *--merge-order* is specified, the commit history is decomposed into a
-unique sequence of minimal, non-linear epochs and maximal, linear epochs.
-Non-linear epochs are then linearised by sorting them into merge order, which
-is described below.
-
+Commits which are stated with a preceding '^' cause listing to stop at
+that point. Their parents are implied. "git-rev-list foo bar ^baz" thus
+means "list all the commits which are included in 'foo' and 'bar', but
+not in 'baz'".
+
+OPTIONS
+-------
+--pretty::
+ Print the contents of the commit changesets in human-readable form.
+
+--objects::
+ Print the object IDs of any object referenced by the listed commits.
+ 'git-rev-list --objects foo ^bar' thus means "send me all object IDs
+ which I need to download if I have the commit object 'bar', but
+ not 'foo'".
+
+--bisect::
+ Limit output to the one commit object which is roughly halfway
+ between the included and excluded commits. Thus, if 'git-rev-list
+ --bisect foo ^bar ^baz' outputs 'midpoint', the output
+ of 'git-rev-list foo ^midpoint' and 'git-rev-list midpoint
+ ^bar ^baz' would be of roughly the same length. Finding the change
+ which introduces a regression is thus reduced to a binary search:
+ repeatedly generate and test new 'midpoint's until the commit chain
+ is of length one.
+
+--merge-order::
+ When specified the commit history is decomposed into a unique
+ sequence of minimal, non-linear epochs and maximal, linear epochs.
+ Non-linear epochs are then linearised by sorting them into merge
+ order, which is described below.
++
Maximal, linear epochs correspond to periods of sequential development.
Minimal, non-linear epochs correspond to periods of divergent development
followed by a converging merge. The theory of epochs is described in more
detail at
link:http://blackcubes.dyndns.org/epoch/[http://blackcubes.dyndns.org/epoch/].
-
++
The merge order for a non-linear epoch is defined as a linearisation for which
the following invariants are true:
-
++
1. if a commit P is reachable from commit N, commit P sorts after commit N
in the linearised list.
2. if Pi and Pj are any two parents of a merge M (with i < j), then any
commit N, such that N is reachable from Pj but not reachable from Pi,
sorts before all commits reachable from Pi.
-
++
Invariant 1 states that later commits appear before earlier commits they are
derived from.
-
++
Invariant 2 states that commits unique to "later" parents in a merge, appear
before all commits from "earlier" parents of a merge.
-If *--show-breaks* is specified, each item of the list is output with a
-2-character prefix consisting of one of: (|), (^), (=) followed by a space.
-
+--show-breaks::
+ Each item of the list is output with a 2-character prefix consisting
+ of one of: (|), (^), (=) followed by a space.
++
Commits marked with (=) represent the boundaries of minimal, non-linear epochs
and correspond either to the start of a period of divergent development or to
the end of such a period.
-
++
Commits marked with (|) are direct parents of commits immediately preceding
the marked commit in the list.
-
++
Commits marked with (^) are not parents of the immediately preceding commit.
These "breaks" represent necessary discontinuities implied by trying to
represent an arbtirary DAG in a linear form.
-
++
*--show-breaks* is only valid if *--merge-order* is also specified.
Author
GIT
---
-Part of the link:git.html[git] suite
+Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite