GFM should support all refs, not just hashes

Proposal

Currently, GFM has the capability to render git hashes. However when wanting to reference a branch or a tag, this no longer works.

To make this more user-friendly, the proposal is to add the moniker git: to indicate that we want to references git-ness. e.g. git:v13.7.0-rc3-ee would link to the actual tag https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/tags/v13.7.0-rc3-ee and render it as [v13.7.0-rc3-ee](/-/tags/v13.7.0-rc3-ee). Further more, the feature should support different namespaces, e.g. git:<other/namespace>/v13.7.0-rc3-ee] should equally work. To differentiate between going to the tag and going to the git-tree of the tag, a trailing slash can be used. e.g. git:v13.7.0-rc3-ee/ renders as [v13.7.0-rc3-ee](/-/tree/v13.7.0-rc3-ee).

This should work for all kinds of git refs, tags, branches and hashes. As such just having a hash could become an alias to git:b0ec53557378ada making the interface nice and consize, while still keeping backwards compatibility.

Quite likely, should this feature also support linking to files, which would be inherent anyway, but best mention it explicitly. Thus: git:master/VERSION#L1 would link to the master branch, file VERSION on Line 1. To link to the master branch of a repo, git:/VERSION#1 or git:<namespace>/VERSION#1 would do exactly that (e.g. it points to the root via the leading slash). Using any other ref would work of course as well, where a commit hash, would render the commit.

It would be nice if both invocations would work, in text and as link destination. e.g.

This code is on `git:master/src/`

would expand into a link as described, but doing

This code is on [master](git:master/src)

Would still expand but not enter a URL in a URL. The most important reason for having this is of course that it happily surives URL changes and local namespace changes. For remote namespaces, this will of course break, unless gitlab auto-updates namespace references (big feature, for all wiki sed :p).

In summary:

• Link to commit git:gitlab-org/gitlab/b0ec53557378ada -> gitlab-org/gitlab/b0ec53557378ada (this is an example with namespace added, others will not do that)
• Link to tree @ ref git:b0ec53557378ada/ -> b0ec53557
• Link to tag git:v13.7.0-rc3-ee v13.7.0-rc3-ee
• Link to tree @ tag git:v13.7.0-rc3-ee/ v13.7.0-rc3-ee
• Link to branch git:master master
• Link to tree @ branch git:master/ master
• Link to file (+line) git:master/VERSION#L1 master/VERSION#L1 Though adding the file is just an extension of the above
• Link to diff (+line) git:d82cc2f6e8df/VERSION#L1 d82cc2f6e8df/VERSION#L1

changed the description

mentioned in issue gitlab-org/quality/triage-reports#1117 (closed)

added devopscreate featureaddition groupsource code typefeature labels

Setting label(s) Category:Source Code Management sectiondev based on groupsource code.

added Category:Source Code Management sectiondev labels

mentioned in issue gitlab-org/quality/triage-reports#1208 (closed)

mentioned in issue gitlab-org/quality/triage-reports#1276 (closed)

mentioned in issue gitlab-org/quality/triage-reports#1370 (closed)

Applying needs investigation

changed milestone to %Backlog

added backend needs investigation priority4 severity4 labels

added [deprecated] Accepting merge requests label