diff --git a/Documentation/Makefile b/Documentation/Makefile
index ed8b886802..c00f5f62b7 100644
--- a/Documentation/Makefile
+++ b/Documentation/Makefile
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ WEBDOC_DEST = /pub/software/scm/git/docs
 
 $(patsubst %.txt,%.html,$(wildcard howto/*.txt)): %.html : %.txt
 	rm -f $@+ $@
-	sed -e '1,/^$$/d' $? | asciidoc -b xhtml11 - >$@+
+	sed -e '1,/^$$/d' $< | asciidoc -b xhtml11 - >$@+
 	mv $@+ $@
 
 install-webdoc : html
diff --git a/Documentation/git-rev-list.txt b/Documentation/git-rev-list.txt
index a446a6b5a2..3c4c2fbfb9 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-rev-list.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-rev-list.txt
@@ -27,111 +27,233 @@ SYNOPSIS
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
+
 Lists commit objects in reverse chronological order starting at the
 given commit(s), taking ancestry relationship into account.  This is
 useful to produce human-readable log output.
 
-Commits which are stated with a preceding '{caret}' cause listing to stop at
-that point. Their parents are implied. "git-rev-list foo bar {caret}baz" thus
+Commits which are stated with a preceding '{caret}' cause listing to
+stop at that point. Their parents are implied. Thus the following
+command:
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+	$ git-rev-list foo bar ^baz
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
 means "list all the commits which are included in 'foo' and 'bar', but
 not in 'baz'".
 
-A special notation <commit1>..<commit2> can be used as a
-short-hand for {caret}<commit1> <commit2>.
+A special notation "'<commit1>'..'<commit2>'" can be used as a
+short-hand for "{caret}'<commit1>' '<commit2>'". For example, either of
+the following may be used interchangeably:
 
-Another special notation is <commit1>...<commit2> which is useful for
-merges.  The resulting set of commits is the symmetric difference
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+	$ git-rev-list origin..HEAD
+	$ git-rev-list HEAD ^origin
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Another special notation is "'<commit1>'...'<commit2>'" which is useful
+for merges.  The resulting set of commits is the symmetric difference
 between the two operands.  The following two commands are equivalent:
 
-------------
-$ git-rev-list A B --not $(git-merge-base --all A B)
-$ git-rev-list A...B
-------------
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+	$ git-rev-list A B --not $(git-merge-base --all A B)
+	$ git-rev-list A...B
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+gitlink:git-rev-list[1] is a very essential git program, since it
+provides the ability to build and traverse commit ancestry graphs. For
+this reason, it has a lot of different options that enables it to be
+used by commands as different as gitlink:git-bisect[1] and
+gitlink:git-repack[1].
 
 OPTIONS
 -------
---pretty::
-	Print the contents of the commit changesets in human-readable form.
+
+Commit Formatting
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Using these options, gitlink:git-rev-list[1] will act similar to the
+more specialized family of commit log tools: gitlink:git-log[1],
+gitlink:git-show[1], and gitlink:git-whatchanged[1]
+
+--pretty[='<format>']::
+
+	Pretty print the contents of the commit logs in a given format,
+	where '<format>' can be one of 'raw', 'medium', 'short', 'full',
+	and 'oneline'. When left out the format default to 'medium'.
+
+--relative-date::
+
+	Show dates relative to the current time, e.g. "2 hours ago".
+	Only takes effect for dates shown in human-readable format, such
+	as when using "--pretty".
 
 --header::
-	Print the contents of the commit in raw-format; each
-	record is separated with a NUL character.
+
+	Print the contents of the commit in raw-format; each record is
+	separated with a NUL character.
 
 --parents::
+
 	Print the parents of the commit.
 
---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'".
+Diff Formatting
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
---objects-edge::
-	Similar to `--objects`, but also print the IDs of
-	excluded commits prefixed with a `-` character.  This is
-	used by `git-pack-objects` to build 'thin' pack, which
-	records objects in deltified form based on objects
-	contained in these excluded commits to reduce network
-	traffic.
+Below are listed options that control the formatting of diff output.
+Some of them are specific to gitlink:git-rev-list[1], however other diff
+options may be given. See gitlink:git-diff-files[1] for more options.
 
---unpacked::
-	Only useful with `--objects`; print the object IDs that
-	are not in packs.
+-c::
 
---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 {caret}bar {caret}baz' outputs 'midpoint', the output
-	of 'git-rev-list foo {caret}midpoint' and 'git-rev-list midpoint
-	{caret}bar {caret}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.
+	This flag changes the way a merge commit is displayed.  It shows
+	the differences from each of the parents to the merge result
+	simultaneously instead of showing pairwise diff between a parent
+	and the result one at a time. Furthermore, it lists only files
+	which were modified from all parents.
+
+--cc::
+
+	This flag implies the '-c' options and further compresses the
+	patch output by omitting hunks that show differences from only
+	one parent, or show the same change from all but one parent for
+	an Octopus merge.
+
+-r::
+
+	Show recursive diffs.
+
+-t::
+
+	Show the tree objects in the diff output. This implies '-r'.
+
+Commit Limiting
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Besides specifying a range of commits that should be listed using the
+special notations explained in the description, additional commit
+limiting may be applied.
+
+--
+
+-n 'number', --max-count='number'::
 
---max-count::
 	Limit the number of commits output.
 
---max-age=timestamp, --min-age=timestamp::
+--since='date', --after='date'::
+
+	Show commits more recent than a specific date.
+
+--until='date', --before='date'::
+
+	Show commits older than a specific date.
+
+--max-age='timestamp', --min-age='timestamp'::
+
 	Limit the commits output to specified time range.
 
---sparse::
-	When optional paths are given, the command outputs only
-	the commits that changes at least one of them, and also
-	ignores merges that do not touch the given paths.  This
-	flag makes the command output all eligible commits
-	(still subject to count and age limitation), but apply
-	merge simplification nevertheless.
-
 --remove-empty::
+
 	Stop when a given path disappears from the tree.
 
 --no-merges::
+
 	Do not print commits with more than one parent.
 
 --not::
-	Reverses the meaning of the '{caret}' prefix (or lack
-	thereof) for all following revision specifiers, up to
-	the next `--not`.
+
+	Reverses the meaning of the '{caret}' prefix (or lack thereof)
+	for all following revision specifiers, up to the next '--not'.
 
 --all::
-	Pretend as if all the refs in `$GIT_DIR/refs/` are
-	listed on the command line as <commit>.
 
---topo-order::
-	By default, the commits are shown in reverse
-	chronological order.  This option makes them appear in
-	topological order (i.e. descendant commits are shown
-	before their parents).
+	Pretend as if all the refs in `$GIT_DIR/refs/` are listed on the
+	command line as '<commit>'.
 
 --merge::
+
 	After a failed merge, show refs that touch files having a
 	conflict and don't exist on all heads to merge.
 
---relative-date::
-	Show dates relative to the current time, e.g. "2 hours ago".
-	Only takes effect for dates shown in human-readable format,
-	such as when using "--pretty".
+--boundary::
+
+	Output uninteresting commits at the boundary, which are usually
+	not shown.
+
+--dense, --sparse::
+
+When optional paths are given, the default behaviour ('--dense') is to
+only output commits that changes at least one of them, and also ignore
+merges that do not touch the given paths.
+
+Use the '--sparse' flag to makes the command output all eligible commits
+(still subject to count and age limitation), but apply merge
+simplification nevertheless.
+
+--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 the two commands
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+	$ git-rev-list foo ^midpoint
+	$ 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.
+
+--
+
+Commit Ordering
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+By default, the commits are shown in reverse chronological order.
+
+--topo-order::
+
+	This option makes them appear in topological order (i.e.
+	descendant commits are shown before their parents).
+
+--date-order::
+
+	This option is similar to '--topo-order' in the sense that no
+	parent comes before all of its children, but otherwise things
+	are still ordered in the commit timestamp order.
+
+Object Traversal
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+These options are mostly targeted for packing of git repositories.
+
+--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'".
+
+--objects-edge::
+
+	Similar to '--objects', but also print the IDs of excluded
+	commits prefixed with a "-" character.  This is used by
+	gitlink:git-pack-objects[1] to build "thin" pack, which records
+	objects in deltified form based on objects contained in these
+	excluded commits to reduce network traffic.
+
+--unpacked::
+
+	Only useful with '--objects'; print the object IDs that are not
+	in packs.
 
 Author
 ------
@@ -139,9 +261,9 @@ Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>
 
 Documentation
 --------------
-Documentation by David Greaves, Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
+Documentation by David Greaves, Junio C Hamano, Jonas Fonseca
+and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 
 GIT
 ---
 Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite
-
diff --git a/blame.c b/blame.c
index 8968046b00..8cfd5d94c7 100644
--- a/blame.c
+++ b/blame.c
@@ -617,7 +617,7 @@ static void simplify_commit(struct rev_info *revs, struct commit *commit)
 				if (new_name) {
 					struct util_info* putil = get_util(p);
 					if (!putil->pathname)
-						putil->pathname = strdup(new_name);
+						putil->pathname = xstrdup(new_name);
 				} else {
 					*pp = parent->next;
 					continue;
diff --git a/builtin-apply.c b/builtin-apply.c
index 1a1deaf78c..872c8005a2 100644
--- a/builtin-apply.c
+++ b/builtin-apply.c
@@ -2449,7 +2449,7 @@ static int apply_patch(int fd, const char *filename, int inaccurate_eof)
 static int git_apply_config(const char *var, const char *value)
 {
 	if (!strcmp(var, "apply.whitespace")) {
-		apply_default_whitespace = strdup(value);
+		apply_default_whitespace = xstrdup(value);
 		return 0;
 	}
 	return git_default_config(var, value);
diff --git a/builtin-fmt-merge-msg.c b/builtin-fmt-merge-msg.c
index ed59e77e19..c407c033e7 100644
--- a/builtin-fmt-merge-msg.c
+++ b/builtin-fmt-merge-msg.c
@@ -111,29 +111,29 @@ static int handle_line(char *line)
 	i = find_in_list(&srcs, src);
 	if (i < 0) {
 		i = srcs.nr;
-		append_to_list(&srcs, strdup(src),
+		append_to_list(&srcs, xstrdup(src),
 				xcalloc(1, sizeof(struct src_data)));
 	}
 	src_data = srcs.payload[i];
 
 	if (pulling_head) {
-		origin = strdup(src);
+		origin = xstrdup(src);
 		src_data->head_status |= 1;
 	} else if (!strncmp(line, "branch ", 7)) {
-		origin = strdup(line + 7);
+		origin = xstrdup(line + 7);
 		append_to_list(&src_data->branch, origin, NULL);
 		src_data->head_status |= 2;
 	} else if (!strncmp(line, "tag ", 4)) {
 		origin = line;
-		append_to_list(&src_data->tag, strdup(origin + 4), NULL);
+		append_to_list(&src_data->tag, xstrdup(origin + 4), NULL);
 		src_data->head_status |= 2;
 	} else if (!strncmp(line, "remote branch ", 14)) {
-		origin = strdup(line + 14);
+		origin = xstrdup(line + 14);
 		append_to_list(&src_data->r_branch, origin, NULL);
 		src_data->head_status |= 2;
 	} else {
-		origin = strdup(src);
-		append_to_list(&src_data->generic, strdup(line), NULL);
+		origin = xstrdup(src);
+		append_to_list(&src_data->generic, xstrdup(line), NULL);
 		src_data->head_status |= 2;
 	}
 
@@ -142,10 +142,10 @@ static int handle_line(char *line)
 		if (origin[0] == '\'' && origin[len - 1] == '\'') {
 			char *new_origin = xmalloc(len - 1);
 			memcpy(new_origin, origin + 1, len - 2);
-			new_origin[len - 1] = 0;
+			new_origin[len - 2] = 0;
 			origin = new_origin;
 		} else
-			origin = strdup(origin);
+			origin = xstrdup(origin);
 	} else {
 		char *new_origin = xmalloc(strlen(origin) + strlen(src) + 5);
 		sprintf(new_origin, "%s of %s", origin, src);
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ static void shortlog(const char *name, unsigned char *sha1,
 
 		bol = strstr(commit->buffer, "\n\n");
 		if (!bol) {
-			append_to_list(&subjects, strdup(sha1_to_hex(
+			append_to_list(&subjects, xstrdup(sha1_to_hex(
 							commit->object.sha1)),
 					NULL);
 			continue;
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ static void shortlog(const char *name, unsigned char *sha1,
 			memcpy(oneline, bol, len);
 			oneline[len] = 0;
 		} else
-			oneline = strdup(bol);
+			oneline = xstrdup(bol);
 		append_to_list(&subjects, oneline, NULL);
 	}
 
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ int cmd_fmt_merge_msg(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		usage(fmt_merge_msg_usage);
 
 	/* get current branch */
-	head = strdup(git_path("HEAD"));
+	head = xstrdup(git_path("HEAD"));
 	current_branch = resolve_ref(head, head_sha1, 1);
 	current_branch += strlen(head) - 4;
 	free((char *)head);
diff --git a/builtin-grep.c b/builtin-grep.c
index 8213ce2402..6430f6d79e 100644
--- a/builtin-grep.c
+++ b/builtin-grep.c
@@ -1048,7 +1048,7 @@ int cmd_grep(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 				/* ignore empty line like grep does */
 				if (!buf[0])
 					continue;
-				add_pattern(&opt, strdup(buf), argv[1], ++lno,
+				add_pattern(&opt, xstrdup(buf), argv[1], ++lno,
 					    GREP_PATTERN);
 			}
 			fclose(patterns);
diff --git a/builtin-name-rev.c b/builtin-name-rev.c
index d44e782c99..52886b69b0 100644
--- a/builtin-name-rev.c
+++ b/builtin-name-rev.c
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ static int name_ref(const char *path, const unsigned char *sha1)
 		else if (!strncmp(path, "refs/", 5))
 			path = path + 5;
 
-		name_rev(commit, strdup(path), 0, 0, deref);
+		name_rev(commit, xstrdup(path), 0, 0, deref);
 	}
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/builtin-prune.c b/builtin-prune.c
index fc885ce55b..6228c7907b 100644
--- a/builtin-prune.c
+++ b/builtin-prune.c
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ static void process_tree(struct tree *tree,
 	obj->flags |= SEEN;
 	if (parse_tree(tree) < 0)
 		die("bad tree object %s", sha1_to_hex(obj->sha1));
-	name = strdup(name);
+	name = xstrdup(name);
 	add_object(obj, p, path, name);
 	me.up = path;
 	me.elem = name;
diff --git a/builtin-push.c b/builtin-push.c
index ada8338cc1..c43f2566d5 100644
--- a/builtin-push.c
+++ b/builtin-push.c
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ static int expand_one_ref(const char *ref, const unsigned char *sha1)
 	ref += 5;
 
 	if (!strncmp(ref, "tags/", 5))
-		add_refspec(strdup(ref));
+		add_refspec(xstrdup(ref));
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -100,12 +100,12 @@ static int get_remotes_uri(const char *repo, const char *uri[MAX_URI])
 
 		if (!is_refspec) {
 			if (n < MAX_URI)
-				uri[n++] = strdup(s);
+				uri[n++] = xstrdup(s);
 			else
 				error("more than %d URL's specified, ignoring the rest", MAX_URI);
 		}
 		else if (is_refspec && !has_explicit_refspec)
-			add_refspec(strdup(s));
+			add_refspec(xstrdup(s));
 	}
 	fclose(f);
 	if (!n)
@@ -125,13 +125,13 @@ static int get_remote_config(const char* key, const char* value)
 	    !strncmp(key + 7, config_repo, config_repo_len)) {
 		if (!strcmp(key + 7 + config_repo_len, ".url")) {
 			if (config_current_uri < MAX_URI)
-				config_uri[config_current_uri++] = strdup(value);
+				config_uri[config_current_uri++] = xstrdup(value);
 			else
 				error("more than %d URL's specified, ignoring the rest", MAX_URI);
 		}
 		else if (config_get_refspecs &&
 			 !strcmp(key + 7 + config_repo_len, ".push"))
-			add_refspec(strdup(value));
+			add_refspec(xstrdup(value));
 	}
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/builtin-repo-config.c b/builtin-repo-config.c
index d19f7dc63b..f60cee1dc5 100644
--- a/builtin-repo-config.c
+++ b/builtin-repo-config.c
@@ -72,12 +72,12 @@ static int get_value(const char* key_, const char* regex_)
 		const char *home = getenv("HOME");
 		local = getenv("GIT_CONFIG_LOCAL");
 		if (!local)
-			local = repo_config = strdup(git_path("config"));
+			local = repo_config = xstrdup(git_path("config"));
 		if (home)
-			global = strdup(mkpath("%s/.gitconfig", home));
+			global = xstrdup(mkpath("%s/.gitconfig", home));
 	}
 
-	key = strdup(key_);
+	key = xstrdup(key_);
 	for (tl=key+strlen(key)-1; tl >= key && *tl != '.'; --tl)
 		*tl = tolower(*tl);
 	for (tl=key; *tl && *tl != '.'; ++tl)
diff --git a/builtin-rev-list.c b/builtin-rev-list.c
index 402af8e1b5..8437454fbe 100644
--- a/builtin-rev-list.c
+++ b/builtin-rev-list.c
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ static void process_blob(struct blob *blob,
 	if (obj->flags & (UNINTERESTING | SEEN))
 		return;
 	obj->flags |= SEEN;
-	name = strdup(name);
+	name = xstrdup(name);
 	add_object(obj, p, path, name);
 }
 
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ static void process_tree(struct tree *tree,
 	if (parse_tree(tree) < 0)
 		die("bad tree object %s", sha1_to_hex(obj->sha1));
 	obj->flags |= SEEN;
-	name = strdup(name);
+	name = xstrdup(name);
 	add_object(obj, p, path, name);
 	me.up = path;
 	me.elem = name;
diff --git a/builtin-rm.c b/builtin-rm.c
index 593d86744c..33d04bd015 100644
--- a/builtin-rm.c
+++ b/builtin-rm.c
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ static int remove_file(const char *name)
 
 	ret = unlink(name);
 	if (!ret && (slash = strrchr(name, '/'))) {
-		char *n = strdup(name);
+		char *n = xstrdup(name);
 		do {
 			n[slash - name] = 0;
 			name = n;
diff --git a/builtin-show-branch.c b/builtin-show-branch.c
index d7de18ec0b..578c9fafd0 100644
--- a/builtin-show-branch.c
+++ b/builtin-show-branch.c
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ static void name_commits(struct commit_list *list,
 					en += sprintf(en, "^");
 				else
 					en += sprintf(en, "^%d", nth);
-				name_commit(p, strdup(newname), 0);
+				name_commit(p, xstrdup(newname), 0);
 				i++;
 				name_first_parent_chain(p);
 			}
@@ -364,7 +364,7 @@ static int append_ref(const char *refname, const unsigned char *sha1)
 			refname, MAX_REVS);
 		return 0;
 	}
-	ref_name[ref_name_cnt++] = strdup(refname);
+	ref_name[ref_name_cnt++] = xstrdup(refname);
 	ref_name[ref_name_cnt] = NULL;
 	return 0;
 }
@@ -521,7 +521,7 @@ static int git_show_branch_config(const char *var, const char *value)
 			default_alloc = default_alloc * 3 / 2 + 20;
 			default_arg = xrealloc(default_arg, sizeof *default_arg * default_alloc);
 		}
-		default_arg[default_num++] = strdup(value);
+		default_arg[default_num++] = xstrdup(value);
 		default_arg[default_num] = NULL;
 		return 0;
 	}
diff --git a/builtin-symbolic-ref.c b/builtin-symbolic-ref.c
index b4ec6f28ed..1d3a5e229a 100644
--- a/builtin-symbolic-ref.c
+++ b/builtin-symbolic-ref.c
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ static const char git_symbolic_ref_usage[] =
 static void check_symref(const char *HEAD)
 {
 	unsigned char sha1[20];
-	const char *git_HEAD = strdup(git_path("%s", HEAD));
+	const char *git_HEAD = xstrdup(git_path("%s", HEAD));
 	const char *git_refs_heads_master = resolve_ref(git_HEAD, sha1, 0);
 	if (git_refs_heads_master) {
 		/* we want to strip the .git/ part */
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ int cmd_symbolic_ref(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		check_symref(argv[1]);
 		break;
 	case 3:
-		create_symref(strdup(git_path("%s", argv[1])), argv[2]);
+		create_symref(xstrdup(git_path("%s", argv[1])), argv[2]);
 		break;
 	default:
 		usage(git_symbolic_ref_usage);
diff --git a/builtin-tar-tree.c b/builtin-tar-tree.c
index 61a413590d..fa666f78c5 100644
--- a/builtin-tar-tree.c
+++ b/builtin-tar-tree.c
@@ -351,7 +351,7 @@ static int remote_tar(int argc, const char **argv)
 		usage(tar_tree_usage);
 
 	/* --remote=<repo> */
-	url = strdup(argv[1]+9);
+	url = xstrdup(argv[1]+9);
 	pid = git_connect(fd, url, exec);
 	if (pid < 0)
 		return 1;
diff --git a/builtin-upload-tar.c b/builtin-upload-tar.c
index 7b401bbb77..06a945a4b1 100644
--- a/builtin-upload-tar.c
+++ b/builtin-upload-tar.c
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ int cmd_upload_tar(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			return nak("expected (optional) base");
 		if (buf[len-1] == '\n')
 			buf[--len] = 0;
-		base = strdup(buf + 5);
+		base = xstrdup(buf + 5);
 		len = packet_read_line(0, buf, sizeof(buf));
 	}
 	if (len)
diff --git a/builtin-zip-tree.c b/builtin-zip-tree.c
index a5b834d360..1c1f6830c1 100644
--- a/builtin-zip-tree.c
+++ b/builtin-zip-tree.c
@@ -311,11 +311,11 @@ int cmd_zip_tree(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 
 	switch (argc) {
 	case 3:
-		base = strdup(argv[2]);
+		base = xstrdup(argv[2]);
 		baselen = strlen(base);
 		break;
 	case 2:
-		base = strdup("");
+		base = xstrdup("");
 		baselen = 0;
 		break;
 	default:
diff --git a/config.c b/config.c
index c0897cc807..e8f0caf7cf 100644
--- a/config.c
+++ b/config.c
@@ -350,11 +350,11 @@ int git_config(config_fn_t fn)
 		home = getenv("HOME");
 		filename = getenv("GIT_CONFIG_LOCAL");
 		if (!filename)
-			filename = repo_config = strdup(git_path("config"));
+			filename = repo_config = xstrdup(git_path("config"));
 	}
 
 	if (home) {
-		char *user_config = strdup(mkpath("%s/.gitconfig", home));
+		char *user_config = xstrdup(mkpath("%s/.gitconfig", home));
 		if (!access(user_config, R_OK))
 			ret = git_config_from_file(fn, user_config);
 		free(user_config);
@@ -545,8 +545,8 @@ int git_config_set_multivar(const char* key, const char* value,
 		if (!config_filename)
 			config_filename  = git_path("config");
 	}
-	config_filename = strdup(config_filename);
-	lock_file = strdup(mkpath("%s.lock", config_filename));
+	config_filename = xstrdup(config_filename);
+	lock_file = xstrdup(mkpath("%s.lock", config_filename));
 
 	/*
 	 * Since "key" actually contains the section name and the real
diff --git a/connect.c b/connect.c
index e501ccce25..06ef387649 100644
--- a/connect.c
+++ b/connect.c
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ struct ref **get_remote_heads(int in, struct ref **list,
 		if (len != name_len + 41) {
 			if (server_capabilities)
 				free(server_capabilities);
-			server_capabilities = strdup(name + name_len + 1);
+			server_capabilities = xstrdup(name + name_len + 1);
 		}
 
 		if (!check_ref(name, name_len, flags))
@@ -661,7 +661,7 @@ int git_connect(int fd[2], char *url, const char *prog)
 		if (path[1] == '~')
 			path++;
 		else {
-			path = strdup(ptr);
+			path = xstrdup(ptr);
 			free_path = 1;
 		}
 
@@ -672,7 +672,7 @@ int git_connect(int fd[2], char *url, const char *prog)
 		/* These underlying connection commands die() if they
 		 * cannot connect.
 		 */
-		char *target_host = strdup(host);
+		char *target_host = xstrdup(host);
 		if (git_use_proxy(host))
 			git_proxy_connect(fd, host);
 		else
diff --git a/diff.c b/diff.c
index 70699fd8c4..9dcbda3117 100644
--- a/diff.c
+++ b/diff.c
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ static char *quote_one(const char *str)
 		return NULL;
 	needlen = quote_c_style(str, NULL, NULL, 0);
 	if (!needlen)
-		return strdup(str);
+		return xstrdup(str);
 	xp = xmalloc(needlen + 1);
 	quote_c_style(str, xp, NULL, 0);
 	return xp;
@@ -658,7 +658,7 @@ static struct diffstat_file *diffstat_add(struct diffstat_t *diffstat,
 		x->is_renamed = 1;
 	}
 	else
-		x->name = strdup(name_a);
+		x->name = xstrdup(name_a);
 	return x;
 }
 
diff --git a/environment.c b/environment.c
index cd276b0840..0ab3385987 100644
--- a/environment.c
+++ b/environment.c
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ void setup_git(char *new_git_dir, char *new_git_object_dir,
 		free(git_graft_file);
 	git_graft_file = new_git_graft_file;
 	if (!git_graft_file) {
-		git_graft_file = strdup(git_path("info/grafts"));
+		git_graft_file = xstrdup(git_path("info/grafts"));
 		dyn_git_graft_file = 1;
 	} else {
 		dyn_git_graft_file = 0;
diff --git a/fetch.c b/fetch.c
index 7d3812c406..34df8d37d7 100644
--- a/fetch.c
+++ b/fetch.c
@@ -234,8 +234,8 @@ int pull_targets_stdin(char ***target, const char ***write_ref)
 			*target = xrealloc(*target, targets_alloc * sizeof(**target));
 			*write_ref = xrealloc(*write_ref, targets_alloc * sizeof(**write_ref));
 		}
-		(*target)[targets] = strdup(tg_one);
-		(*write_ref)[targets] = rf_one ? strdup(rf_one) : NULL;
+		(*target)[targets] = xstrdup(tg_one);
+		(*write_ref)[targets] = rf_one ? xstrdup(rf_one) : NULL;
 		targets++;
 	}
 	return targets;
diff --git a/fsck-objects.c b/fsck-objects.c
index 24286de15d..4d994f3fc8 100644
--- a/fsck-objects.c
+++ b/fsck-objects.c
@@ -458,7 +458,7 @@ static void fsck_object_dir(const char *path)
 static int fsck_head_link(void)
 {
 	unsigned char sha1[20];
-	const char *git_HEAD = strdup(git_path("HEAD"));
+	const char *git_HEAD = xstrdup(git_path("HEAD"));
 	const char *git_refs_heads_master = resolve_ref(git_HEAD, sha1, 1);
 	int pfxlen = strlen(git_HEAD) - 4; /* strip .../.git/ part */
 
diff --git a/git-compat-util.h b/git-compat-util.h
index 91f2b0d3f0..552b8ec23a 100644
--- a/git-compat-util.h
+++ b/git-compat-util.h
@@ -84,6 +84,14 @@ extern char *gitstrcasestr(const char *haystack, const char *needle);
 extern size_t gitstrlcpy(char *, const char *, size_t);
 #endif
 
+static inline char* xstrdup(const char *str)
+{
+	char *ret = strdup(str);
+	if (!ret)
+		die("Out of memory, strdup failed");
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static inline void *xmalloc(size_t size)
 {
 	void *ret = malloc(size);
diff --git a/git.c b/git.c
index 403fb3ab6e..1d00111819 100644
--- a/git.c
+++ b/git.c
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ static char *alias_string;
 static int git_alias_config(const char *var, const char *value)
 {
 	if (!strncmp(var, "alias.", 6) && !strcmp(var + 6, alias_command)) {
-		alias_string = strdup(value);
+		alias_string = xstrdup(value);
 	}
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/http-fetch.c b/http-fetch.c
index 6806f3678c..fac17607b4 100644
--- a/http-fetch.c
+++ b/http-fetch.c
@@ -787,7 +787,7 @@ static int remote_ls(struct alt_base *repo, const char *path, int flags,
 
 	ls.flags = flags;
 	ls.repo = repo;
-	ls.path = strdup(path);
+	ls.path = xstrdup(path);
 	ls.dentry_name = NULL;
 	ls.dentry_flags = 0;
 	ls.userData = userData;
diff --git a/http-push.c b/http-push.c
index 7814666d8d..670ff007be 100644
--- a/http-push.c
+++ b/http-push.c
@@ -1539,7 +1539,7 @@ static void remote_ls(const char *path, int flags,
 	struct remote_ls_ctx ls;
 
 	ls.flags = flags;
-	ls.path = strdup(path);
+	ls.path = xstrdup(path);
 	ls.dentry_name = NULL;
 	ls.dentry_flags = 0;
 	ls.userData = userData;
@@ -1738,7 +1738,7 @@ static struct object_list **process_tree(struct tree *tree,
 		die("bad tree object %s", sha1_to_hex(obj->sha1));
 
 	obj->flags |= SEEN;
-	name = strdup(name);
+	name = xstrdup(name);
 	p = add_one_object(obj, p);
 	me.up = path;
 	me.elem = name;
@@ -2467,7 +2467,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 		/* Set up revision info for this refspec */
 		commit_argc = 3;
-		new_sha1_hex = strdup(sha1_to_hex(ref->new_sha1));
+		new_sha1_hex = xstrdup(sha1_to_hex(ref->new_sha1));
 		old_sha1_hex = NULL;
 		commit_argv[1] = "--objects";
 		commit_argv[2] = new_sha1_hex;
diff --git a/imap-send.c b/imap-send.c
index 6a52dbdca4..362e474374 100644
--- a/imap-send.c
+++ b/imap-send.c
@@ -1007,7 +1007,7 @@ imap_open_store( imap_server_conf_t *srvc )
 			 * getpass() returns a pointer to a static buffer.  make a copy
 			 * for long term storage.
 			 */
-			srvc->pass = strdup( arg );
+			srvc->pass = xstrdup( arg );
 		}
 		if (CAP(NOLOGIN)) {
 			fprintf( stderr, "Skipping account %s@%s, server forbids LOGIN\n", srvc->user, srvc->host );
@@ -1263,7 +1263,7 @@ git_imap_config(const char *key, const char *val)
 	key += sizeof imap_key - 1;
 
 	if (!strcmp( "folder", key )) {
-		imap_folder = strdup( val );
+		imap_folder = xstrdup( val );
 	} else if (!strcmp( "host", key )) {
 		{
 			if (!strncmp( "imap:", val, 5 ))
@@ -1273,16 +1273,16 @@ git_imap_config(const char *key, const char *val)
 		}
 		if (!strncmp( "//", val, 2 ))
 			val += 2;
-		server.host = strdup( val );
+		server.host = xstrdup( val );
 	}
 	else if (!strcmp( "user", key ))
-		server.user = strdup( val );
+		server.user = xstrdup( val );
 	else if (!strcmp( "pass", key ))
-		server.pass = strdup( val );
+		server.pass = xstrdup( val );
 	else if (!strcmp( "port", key ))
 		server.port = git_config_int( key, val );
 	else if (!strcmp( "tunnel", key ))
-		server.tunnel = strdup( val );
+		server.tunnel = xstrdup( val );
 	return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/merge-file.c b/merge-file.c
index f32c653825..fc9b148993 100644
--- a/merge-file.c
+++ b/merge-file.c
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ static const char *write_temp_file(mmfile_t *f)
 	fd = mkstemp(filename);
 	if (fd < 0)
 		return NULL;
-	filename = strdup(filename);
+	filename = xstrdup(filename);
 	if (f->size != xwrite(fd, f->ptr, f->size)) {
 		rm_temp_file(filename);
 		return NULL;
diff --git a/merge-recursive.c b/merge-recursive.c
index 48b2763de6..611cd95cf5 100644
--- a/merge-recursive.c
+++ b/merge-recursive.c
@@ -513,8 +513,8 @@ static char *unique_path(const char *path, const char *branch)
 
 static int mkdir_p(const char *path, unsigned long mode)
 {
-	/* path points to cache entries, so strdup before messing with it */
-	char *buf = strdup(path);
+	/* path points to cache entries, so xstrdup before messing with it */
+	char *buf = xstrdup(path);
 	int result = safe_create_leading_directories(buf);
 	free(buf);
 	return result;
@@ -668,9 +668,9 @@ static struct merge_file_info merge_file(struct diff_filespec *o,
 			git_unpack_file(a->sha1, src1);
 			git_unpack_file(b->sha1, src2);
 
-			argv[2] = la = strdup(mkpath("%s/%s", branch1, a->path));
-			argv[6] = lb = strdup(mkpath("%s/%s", branch2, b->path));
-			argv[4] = lo = strdup(mkpath("orig/%s", o->path));
+			argv[2] = la = xstrdup(mkpath("%s/%s", branch1, a->path));
+			argv[6] = lb = xstrdup(mkpath("%s/%s", branch2, b->path));
+			argv[4] = lo = xstrdup(mkpath("orig/%s", o->path));
 			argv[7] = src1;
 			argv[8] = orig;
 			argv[9] = src2,
@@ -1314,9 +1314,9 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	original_index_file = getenv("GIT_INDEX_FILE");
 
 	if (!original_index_file)
-		original_index_file = strdup(git_path("index"));
+		original_index_file = xstrdup(git_path("index"));
 
-	temporary_index_file = strdup(git_path("mrg-rcrsv-tmp-idx"));
+	temporary_index_file = xstrdup(git_path("mrg-rcrsv-tmp-idx"));
 
 	if (argc < 4)
 		die("Usage: %s <base>... -- <head> <remote> ...\n", argv[0]);
diff --git a/merge-tree.c b/merge-tree.c
index c2e9a867ed..60df758c41 100644
--- a/merge-tree.c
+++ b/merge-tree.c
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ static void resolve(const char *base, struct name_entry *branch1, struct name_en
 	if (!branch1)
 		return;
 
-	path = strdup(mkpath("%s%s", base, result->path));
+	path = xstrdup(mkpath("%s%s", base, result->path));
 	orig = create_entry(2, branch1->mode, branch1->sha1, path);
 	final = create_entry(0, result->mode, result->sha1, path);
 
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ static struct merge_list *link_entry(unsigned stage, const char *base, struct na
 	if (entry)
 		path = entry->path;
 	else
-		path = strdup(mkpath("%s%s", base, n->path));
+		path = xstrdup(mkpath("%s%s", base, n->path));
 	link = create_entry(stage, n->mode, n->sha1, path);
 	link->link = entry;
 	return link;
diff --git a/path-list.c b/path-list.c
index b1ee72d1dc..0c332dc7b5 100644
--- a/path-list.c
+++ b/path-list.c
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ static int add_entry(struct path_list *list, const char *path)
 				(list->nr - index)
 				* sizeof(struct path_list_item));
 	list->items[index].path = list->strdup_paths ?
-		strdup(path) : (char *)path;
+		xstrdup(path) : (char *)path;
 	list->items[index].util = NULL;
 	list->nr++;
 
diff --git a/refs.c b/refs.c
index aab14fc107..5e653141ce 100644
--- a/refs.c
+++ b/refs.c
@@ -313,8 +313,8 @@ static struct ref_lock *lock_ref_sha1_basic(const char *path,
 	}
 	lock->lk = xcalloc(1, sizeof(struct lock_file));
 
-	lock->ref_file = strdup(path);
-	lock->log_file = strdup(git_path("logs/%s", lock->ref_file + plen));
+	lock->ref_file = xstrdup(path);
+	lock->log_file = xstrdup(git_path("logs/%s", lock->ref_file + plen));
 	lock->force_write = lstat(lock->ref_file, &st) && errno == ENOENT;
 
 	if (safe_create_leading_directories(lock->ref_file))
diff --git a/server-info.c b/server-info.c
index 7df628f2b2..2fb8f57103 100644
--- a/server-info.c
+++ b/server-info.c
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ static int add_info_ref(const char *path, const unsigned char *sha1)
 
 static int update_info_refs(int force)
 {
-	char *path0 = strdup(git_path("info/refs"));
+	char *path0 = xstrdup(git_path("info/refs"));
 	int len = strlen(path0);
 	char *path1 = xmalloc(len + 2);
 
diff --git a/sha1_file.c b/sha1_file.c
index fe9176ae77..ce68b63d69 100644
--- a/sha1_file.c
+++ b/sha1_file.c
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ static void fill_sha1_path(char *pathbuf, const unsigned char *sha1)
 
 /*
  * NOTE! This returns a statically allocated buffer, so you have to be
- * careful about using it. Do a "strdup()" if you need to save the
+ * careful about using it. Do a "xstrdup()" if you need to save the
  * filename.
  *
  * Also note that this returns the location for creating.  Reading
@@ -729,17 +729,39 @@ int legacy_loose_object(unsigned char *map)
 		return 0;
 }
 
+static unsigned long unpack_object_header_gently(const unsigned char *buf, unsigned long len, enum object_type *type, unsigned long *sizep)
+{
+	unsigned shift;
+	unsigned char c;
+	unsigned long size;
+	unsigned long used = 0;
+
+	c = buf[used++];
+	*type = (c >> 4) & 7;
+	size = c & 15;
+	shift = 4;
+	while (c & 0x80) {
+		if (len <= used)
+			return 0;
+		if (sizeof(long) * 8 <= shift)
+			return 0;
+		c = buf[used++];
+		size += (c & 0x7f) << shift;
+		shift += 7;
+	}
+	*sizep = size;
+	return used;
+}
+
 static int unpack_sha1_header(z_stream *stream, unsigned char *map, unsigned long mapsize, void *buffer, unsigned long bufsiz)
 {
-	unsigned char c;
-	unsigned int bits;
-	unsigned long size;
-	static const char *typename[8] = {
-		NULL,	/* OBJ_EXT */
-		"commit", "tree", "blob", "tag",
-		NULL, NULL, NULL
+	unsigned long size, used;
+	static const char valid_loose_object_type[8] = {
+		0, /* OBJ_EXT */
+		1, 1, 1, 1, /* "commit", "tree", "blob", "tag" */
+		0, /* "delta" and others are invalid in a loose object */
 	};
-	const char *type;
+	enum object_type type;
 
 	/* Get the data stream */
 	memset(stream, 0, sizeof(*stream));
@@ -753,22 +775,11 @@ static int unpack_sha1_header(z_stream *stream, unsigned char *map, unsigned lon
 		return inflate(stream, 0);
 	}
 
-	c = *map++;
-	mapsize--;
-	type = typename[(c >> 4) & 7];
-	if (!type)
+	used = unpack_object_header_gently(map, mapsize, &type, &size);
+	if (!used || !valid_loose_object_type[type])
 		return -1;
-
-	bits = 4;
-	size = c & 0xf;
-	while ((c & 0x80)) {
-		if (bits >= 8*sizeof(long))
-			return -1;
-		c = *map++;
-		size += (c & 0x7f) << bits;
-		bits += 7;
-		mapsize--;
-	}
+	map += used;
+	mapsize -= used;
 
 	/* Set up the stream for the rest.. */
 	stream->next_in = map;
@@ -776,7 +787,8 @@ static int unpack_sha1_header(z_stream *stream, unsigned char *map, unsigned lon
 	inflateInit(stream);
 
 	/* And generate the fake traditional header */
-	stream->total_out = 1 + snprintf(buffer, bufsiz, "%s %lu", type, size);
+	stream->total_out = 1 + snprintf(buffer, bufsiz, "%s %lu",
+					 type_names[type], size);
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -934,25 +946,18 @@ static int packed_delta_info(unsigned char *base_sha1,
 static unsigned long unpack_object_header(struct packed_git *p, unsigned long offset,
 	enum object_type *type, unsigned long *sizep)
 {
-	unsigned shift;
-	unsigned char c;
-	unsigned long size;
+	unsigned long used;
 
-	if (offset >= p->pack_size)
+	if (p->pack_size <= offset)
 		die("object offset outside of pack file");
-	c = *((unsigned char *)p->pack_base + offset++);
-	*type = (c >> 4) & 7;
-	size = c & 15;
-	shift = 4;
-	while (c & 0x80) {
-		if (offset >= p->pack_size)
-			die("object offset outside of pack file");
-		c = *((unsigned char *)p->pack_base + offset++);
-		size += (c & 0x7f) << shift;
-		shift += 7;
-	}
-	*sizep = size;
-	return offset;
+
+	used = unpack_object_header_gently((unsigned char *)p->pack_base +
+					   offset,
+					   p->pack_size - offset, type, sizep);
+	if (!used)
+		die("object offset outside of pack file");
+
+	return offset + used;
 }
 
 int check_reuse_pack_delta(struct packed_git *p, unsigned long offset,
diff --git a/sha1_name.c b/sha1_name.c
index 60a2c0bb32..d761651dd0 100644
--- a/sha1_name.c
+++ b/sha1_name.c
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ static int get_sha1_basic(const char *str, int len, unsigned char *sha1)
 		pathname = resolve_ref(git_path(*p, len, str), this_result, 1);
 		if (pathname) {
 			if (!refs_found++)
-				real_path = strdup(pathname);
+				real_path = xstrdup(pathname);
 			if (!warn_ambiguous_refs)
 				break;
 		}
diff --git a/t/test-lib.sh b/t/test-lib.sh
index 695243efad..8bb34c3610 100755
--- a/t/test-lib.sh
+++ b/t/test-lib.sh
@@ -34,6 +34,15 @@ export GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL GIT_AUTHOR_NAME
 export GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL GIT_COMMITTER_NAME
 export EDITOR VISUAL
 
+case $(echo $GIT_TRACE |tr [A-Z] [a-z]) in
+	1|2|true)
+		echo "* warning: Some tests will not work if GIT_TRACE" \
+			"is set as to trace on STDERR ! *"
+		echo "* warning: Please set GIT_TRACE to something" \
+			"other than 1, 2 or true ! *"
+		;;
+esac
+
 # Each test should start with something like this, after copyright notices:
 #
 # test_description='Description of this test...
diff --git a/trace.c b/trace.c
index 90847c3fd8..ce01c34749 100644
--- a/trace.c
+++ b/trace.c
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ int nfvasprintf(char **str, const char *fmt, va_list va)
 }
 
 /* Get a trace file descriptor from GIT_TRACE env variable. */
-static int get_trace_fd()
+static int get_trace_fd(int *need_close)
 {
 	char *trace = getenv("GIT_TRACE");
 
@@ -61,9 +61,25 @@ static int get_trace_fd()
 		return STDERR_FILENO;
 	if (strlen(trace) == 1 && isdigit(*trace))
 		return atoi(trace);
+	if (*trace == '/') {
+		int fd = open(trace, O_WRONLY | O_APPEND | O_CREAT, 0666);
+		if (fd == -1) {
+			fprintf(stderr,
+				"Could not open '%s' for tracing: %s\n"
+				"Defaulting to tracing on stderr...\n",
+				trace, strerror(errno));
+			return STDERR_FILENO;
+		}
+		*need_close = 1;
+		return fd;
+	}
 
 	fprintf(stderr, "What does '%s' for GIT_TRACE means ?\n", trace);
+	fprintf(stderr, "If you want to trace into a file, "
+		"then please set GIT_TRACE to an absolute pathname "
+		"(starting with /).\n");
 	fprintf(stderr, "Defaulting to tracing on stderr...\n");
+
 	return STDERR_FILENO;
 }
 
@@ -74,7 +90,8 @@ void trace_printf(const char *format, ...)
 {
 	char *trace_str;
 	va_list rest;
-	int fd = get_trace_fd();
+	int need_close = 0;
+	int fd = get_trace_fd(&need_close);
 
 	if (!fd)
 		return;
@@ -86,6 +103,9 @@ void trace_printf(const char *format, ...)
 	write_or_whine(fd, trace_str, strlen(trace_str), err_msg);
 
 	free(trace_str);
+
+	if (need_close)
+		close(fd);
 }
 
 void trace_argv_printf(const char **argv, int count, const char *format, ...)
@@ -93,7 +113,8 @@ void trace_argv_printf(const char **argv, int count, const char *format, ...)
 	char *argv_str, *format_str, *trace_str;
 	size_t argv_len, format_len, trace_len;
 	va_list rest;
-	int fd = get_trace_fd();
+	int need_close = 0;
+	int fd = get_trace_fd(&need_close);
 
 	if (!fd)
 		return;
@@ -122,4 +143,7 @@ void trace_argv_printf(const char **argv, int count, const char *format, ...)
 	free(argv_str);
 	free(format_str);
 	free(trace_str);
+
+	if (need_close)
+		close(fd);
 }