Please support using notes via a commit rather than a ref

[joshtriplett]

The various functions that support git notes, such as git_note_iterator_new, git_note_read, git_note_create, and git_note_remove all take a notes_ref as a string (defaulting to refs/notes/commits). Please consider adding support to use a commit instead of a ref; the functions to read notes would just need the commit, and the functions to write notes would take a notes commit and return a new notes commit. This would allow storing the notes commit(s) in another way, rather than as a reference.

The existing functions that use a notes ref would then become simple wrappers around the lower-level API.

[richardipsum]

@joshtriplett I'd like to help with this if possible. But I don't see how the notes_ref parameter can be avoided in the low level calls that would take a commit instead of a notes_ref, if the higher level functions that take a notes_ref are to keep their existing functionality. So long as you provide the means to put notes somewhere other than refs/notes/commits you will need the notes_ref parameter.

[joshtriplett]

@richardipsum The functions that read notes would take a commit instead of a notes_ref string, and the existing functions would read the ref, turn it into a commit, and pass that. The functions that write notes would take an optional parent commit and return a new commit, and the existing functions would (with appropriate locking) read the ref, turn it into a commit, pass that, get back a commit, and write that to the ref.

[richardipsum]

@joshtriplett Right I see, so literally just swapping the const char *notes_ref for git_commit *notes_commit? Okay I'll give this a try.

[joshtriplett]

@richardipsum That and a git_commit ** out parameter for calls that write notes to provide the new commit they create.

[richardipsum]

Ack 😸

[richardipsum]

Hi! Sorry it's taken me so long to get this done. Pull request #4159 implements this feature request and is ready for review. :)

[richardipsum]

@carlosmn Hi, do you have any thoughts on my attempt at implementing this feature request?

[richardipsum]

@ethomson I implemented the solution to this issue 3 months ago and I've had no feedback at all, it seems as if there's no real desire for this functionality, can I suggest then that we close both the PR and this issue?

[joshtriplett]

@richardipsum I'm still really interested in this, and I'm sorry to see that you haven't gotten much response.

[richardipsum]

@pks-t You seem pretty active here can you help solve this issue? I opened the PR for it ages ago

[ethomson]

Fixed via #4159