extern void *create_object(const unsigned char *sha1, int type, void *obj);
-/** Returns the object, having parsed it to find out what it is. **/
+/*
+ * Returns the object, having parsed it to find out what it is.
+ *
+ * Returns NULL if the object is missing or corrupt.
+ */
struct object *parse_object(const unsigned char *sha1);
+/*
+ * Like parse_object, but will die() instead of returning NULL. If the
+ * "name" parameter is not NULL, it is included in the error message
+ * (otherwise, the sha1 hex is given).
+ */
+struct object *parse_object_or_die(const unsigned char *sha1, const char *name);
+
/* Given the result of read_sha1_file(), returns the object after
* parsing it. eaten_p indicates if the object has a borrowed copy
* of buffer and the caller should not free() it.