Merge branch 'maint'

* maint:
  gitattributes: -crlf is not binary
  git-apply: Loosen "match_beginning" logic
  Fix example in git-name-rev documentation
  shell: do not play duplicated definition games to shrink the executable
  Fix use of hardlinks in "make install"
  pack-objects: Allow missing base objects when creating thin packs

Documentation/gitattributes.txt

@@ -105,9 +105,8 @@ Set::
 
 Unset::
 
-	Unsetting the `crlf` attribute on a path is meant to
-	mark the path as a "binary" file.  The path never goes
-	through line endings conversion upon checkin/checkout.
+	Unsetting the `crlf` attribute on a path tells git not to
+	attempt any end-of-line conversion upon checkin or checkout.
 
 Unspecified::
 
@@ -486,6 +485,41 @@ in the file.  E.g. the string `$Format:%H$` will be replaced by the
 commit hash.
 
 
+USING ATTRIBUTE MACROS
+----------------------
+
+You do not want any end-of-line conversions applied to, nor textual diffs
+produced for, any binary file you track.  You would need to specify e.g.
+
+------------
+*.jpg -crlf -diff
+------------
+
+but that may become cumbersome, when you have many attributes.  Using
+attribute macros, you can specify groups of attributes set or unset at
+the same time.  The system knows a built-in attribute macro, `binary`:
+
+------------
+*.jpg binary
+------------
+
+which is equivalent to the above.  Note that the attribute macros can only
+be "Set" (see the above example that sets "binary" macro as if it were an
+ordinary attribute --- setting it in turn unsets "crlf" and "diff").
+
+
+DEFINING ATTRIBUTE MACROS
+-------------------------
+
+Custom attribute macros can be defined only in the `.gitattributes` file
+at the toplevel (i.e. not in any subdirectory).  The built-in attribute
+macro "binary" is equivalent to:
+
+------------
+[attr]binary -diff -crlf
+------------
+
+
 EXAMPLE
 -------