ref-filter.c: sort formatted dates by byte value

Update the ref sorting functions of 'ref-filter.c' so that when date fields
are specified with a format string (such as in 'git for-each-ref
--sort=creatordate:<something>'), they are sorted by their formatted string
value rather than by the underlying numeric timestamp. Currently, date
fields are always sorted by timestamp, regardless of whether formatting
information is included in the '--sort' key.

Leaving the default (unformatted) date sorting unchanged, sorting by the
formatted date string adds some flexibility to 'for-each-ref' by allowing
for behavior like "sort by year, then by refname within each year" or "sort
by time of day". Because the inclusion of a format string previously had no
effect on sort behavior, this change likely will not affect existing usage
of 'for-each-ref' or other ref listing commands.

Additionally, update documentation & tests to document the new sorting
mechanism.

Signed-off-by: Victoria Dye <vdye@github.com>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>

0 files changed, 0 insertions, 0 deletions