diff --git a/Documentation/RelNotes/1.7.3.txt b/Documentation/RelNotes/1.7.3.txt
index 3512bbb..f1243ff 100644
--- a/Documentation/RelNotes/1.7.3.txt
+++ b/Documentation/RelNotes/1.7.3.txt
@@ -60,11 +60,19 @@
  * "git fetch" and friends were accidentally broken for url with "+" in
    its path, e.g. "git://git.gnome.org/gtk+".
 
+ * "git fetch $url" (i.e. without refspecs) was broken for quite some
+   time, if the current branch happen to be tracking some remote.
+
+ * "git note remove" created unnecessary extra commit when named object
+   did not have any note to begin with.
+
+ * "git -c foo=bar subcmd" did not work well for subcmd that is not
+   implemented as a built-in command.
+
 ---
 exec >/var/tmp/1
 echo O=$(git describe master)
-O=v1.7.2.2-268-g7e42332
-O=v1.7.2
+O=v1.7.3-rc0
 git shortlog --no-merges $O..master ^maint
 exit 0
 
diff --git a/Documentation/config.txt b/Documentation/config.txt
index cda6721..d82c0da 100644
--- a/Documentation/config.txt
+++ b/Documentation/config.txt
@@ -450,6 +450,15 @@
 	to the value of `$HOME` and "{tilde}user/" to the specified user's
 	home directory.  See linkgit:gitignore[5].
 
+core.askpass::
+	Some commands (e.g. svn and http interfaces) that interactively
+	ask for a password can be told to use an external program given
+	via the value of this variable. Can be overridden by the 'GIT_ASKPASS'
+	environment variable. If not set, fall back to the value of the
+	'SSH_ASKPASS' environment variable or, failing that, a simple password
+	prompt. The external program shall be given a suitable prompt as
+	command line argument and write the password on its STDOUT.
+
 core.editor::
 	Commands such as `commit` and `tag` that lets you edit
 	messages by launching an editor uses the value of this
@@ -804,8 +813,6 @@
 	standard "a/" and "b/" depending on what is being compared.  When
 	this configuration is in effect, reverse diff output also swaps
 	the order of the prefixes:
-diff.noprefix::
-	If set, 'git diff' does not show any source or destination prefix.
 `git diff`;;
 	compares the (i)ndex and the (w)ork tree;
 `git diff HEAD`;;
@@ -817,6 +824,9 @@
 `git diff --no-index a b`;;
 	compares two non-git things (1) and (2).
 
+diff.noprefix::
+	If set, 'git diff' does not show any source or destination prefix.
+
 diff.renameLimit::
 	The number of files to consider when performing the copy/rename
 	detection; equivalent to the 'git diff' option '-l'.
diff --git a/Documentation/git.txt b/Documentation/git.txt
index d9988f1..69ef12e 100644
--- a/Documentation/git.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git.txt
@@ -639,6 +639,13 @@
 personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 for further details.
 
+'GIT_ASKPASS'::
+	If this environment variable is set, then git commands which need to
+	acquire passwords or passphrases (e.g. for HTTP or IMAP authentication)
+	will call this program with a suitable prompt as command line argument
+	and read the password from its STDOUT. See also the 'core.askpass'
+	option in linkgit:git-config[1].
+
 'GIT_FLUSH'::
 	If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 	as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 8b7c243..c27e8bc 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -982,6 +982,7 @@
 	# NO_MMAP.  If you suspect that your compiler is not affected by this
 	# issue, comment out the NO_MMAP statement.
 	NO_MMAP = YesPlease
+	NO_REGEX = YesPlease
 	SNPRINTF_RETURNS_BOGUS = YesPlease
 	SHELL_PATH = /usr/gnu/bin/bash
 	NEEDS_LIBGEN = YesPlease
@@ -1000,6 +1001,7 @@
 	# NO_MMAP.  If you suspect that your compiler is not affected by this
 	# issue, comment out the NO_MMAP statement.
 	NO_MMAP = YesPlease
+	NO_REGEX = YesPlease
 	SNPRINTF_RETURNS_BOGUS = YesPlease
 	SHELL_PATH=/usr/gnu/bin/bash
 	NEEDS_LIBGEN = YesPlease
diff --git a/builtin.h b/builtin.h
index ed6ee26..0398d24 100644
--- a/builtin.h
+++ b/builtin.h
@@ -11,8 +11,6 @@
 extern const char git_usage_string[];
 extern const char git_more_info_string[];
 
-extern void list_common_cmds_help(void);
-extern const char *help_unknown_cmd(const char *cmd);
 extern void prune_packed_objects(int);
 extern int fmt_merge_msg(int merge_summary, struct strbuf *in,
 	struct strbuf *out);
diff --git a/builtin/fast-export.c b/builtin/fast-export.c
index a9bbf86..c8fd46b 100644
--- a/builtin/fast-export.c
+++ b/builtin/fast-export.c
@@ -167,7 +167,15 @@
 	cmp = memcmp(name_a, name_b, len);
 	if (cmp)
 		return cmp;
-	return (len_b - len_a);
+	cmp = len_b - len_a;
+	if (cmp)
+		return cmp;
+	/*
+	 * Move 'R'ename entries last so that all references of the file
+	 * appear in the output before it is renamed (e.g., when a file
+	 * was copied and renamed in the same commit).
+	 */
+	return (a->status == 'R') - (b->status == 'R');
 }
 
 static void show_filemodify(struct diff_queue_struct *q,
diff --git a/builtin/fetch.c b/builtin/fetch.c
index fab3fce..6fc5047 100644
--- a/builtin/fetch.c
+++ b/builtin/fetch.c
@@ -146,7 +146,10 @@
 		struct remote *remote = transport->remote;
 		struct branch *branch = branch_get(NULL);
 		int has_merge = branch_has_merge_config(branch);
-		if (remote && (remote->fetch_refspec_nr || has_merge)) {
+		if (remote &&
+		    (remote->fetch_refspec_nr ||
+		     /* Note: has_merge implies non-NULL branch->remote_name */
+		     (has_merge && !strcmp(branch->remote_name, remote->name)))) {
 			for (i = 0; i < remote->fetch_refspec_nr; i++) {
 				get_fetch_map(remote_refs, &remote->fetch[i], &tail, 0);
 				if (remote->fetch[i].dst &&
@@ -160,6 +163,8 @@
 			 * if the remote we're fetching from is the same
 			 * as given in branch.<name>.remote, we add the
 			 * ref given in branch.<name>.merge, too.
+			 *
+			 * Note: has_merge implies non-NULL branch->remote_name
 			 */
 			if (has_merge &&
 			    !strcmp(branch->remote_name, remote->name))
diff --git a/builtin/notes.c b/builtin/notes.c
index fbc347c..6d07aac 100644
--- a/builtin/notes.c
+++ b/builtin/notes.c
@@ -769,6 +769,7 @@
 	const char *object_ref;
 	struct notes_tree *t;
 	unsigned char object[20];
+	int retval;
 
 	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, options,
 			     git_notes_remove_usage, 0);
@@ -785,12 +786,17 @@
 
 	t = init_notes_check("remove");
 
-	fprintf(stderr, "Removing note for object %s\n", sha1_to_hex(object));
-	remove_note(t, object);
+	retval = remove_note(t, object);
+	if (retval)
+		fprintf(stderr, "Object %s has no note\n", sha1_to_hex(object));
+	else {
+		fprintf(stderr, "Removing note for object %s\n",
+			sha1_to_hex(object));
 
-	commit_notes(t, "Notes removed by 'git notes remove'");
+		commit_notes(t, "Notes removed by 'git notes remove'");
+	}
 	free_notes(t);
-	return 0;
+	return retval;
 }
 
 static int prune(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index be02a42..2ef2fa3 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -378,6 +378,7 @@
 #define GRAFT_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_GRAFT_FILE"
 #define TEMPLATE_DIR_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_TEMPLATE_DIR"
 #define CONFIG_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_CONFIG"
+#define CONFIG_DATA_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_CONFIG_PARAMETERS"
 #define EXEC_PATH_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_EXEC_PATH"
 #define CEILING_DIRECTORIES_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES"
 #define NO_REPLACE_OBJECTS_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_NO_REPLACE_OBJECTS"
@@ -396,7 +397,7 @@
  * environment creation or simple walk of the list.
  * The number of non-NULL entries is available as a macro.
  */
-#define LOCAL_REPO_ENV_SIZE 8
+#define LOCAL_REPO_ENV_SIZE 9
 extern const char *const local_repo_env[LOCAL_REPO_ENV_SIZE + 1];
 
 extern int is_bare_repository_cfg;
@@ -973,7 +974,9 @@
 typedef int (*config_fn_t)(const char *, const char *, void *);
 extern int git_default_config(const char *, const char *, void *);
 extern int git_config_from_file(config_fn_t fn, const char *, void *);
+extern void git_config_push_parameter(const char *text);
 extern int git_config_parse_parameter(const char *text);
+extern int git_config_parse_environment(void);
 extern int git_config_from_parameters(config_fn_t fn, void *data);
 extern int git_config(config_fn_t fn, void *);
 extern int git_parse_ulong(const char *, unsigned long *);
@@ -1032,6 +1035,7 @@
 extern int pager_use_color;
 
 extern const char *editor_program;
+extern const char *askpass_program;
 extern const char *excludes_file;
 
 /* base85 */
diff --git a/config.c b/config.c
index cdcf583..4b0a820 100644
--- a/config.c
+++ b/config.c
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "exec_cmd.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
+#include "quote.h"
 
 #define MAXNAME (256)
 
@@ -34,6 +35,19 @@
 		*p = tolower(*p);
 }
 
+void git_config_push_parameter(const char *text)
+{
+	struct strbuf env = STRBUF_INIT;
+	const char *old = getenv(CONFIG_DATA_ENVIRONMENT);
+	if (old) {
+		strbuf_addstr(&env, old);
+		strbuf_addch(&env, ' ');
+	}
+	sq_quote_buf(&env, text);
+	setenv(CONFIG_DATA_ENVIRONMENT, env.buf, 1);
+	strbuf_release(&env);
+}
+
 int git_config_parse_parameter(const char *text)
 {
 	struct config_item *ct;
@@ -61,6 +75,37 @@
 	return 0;
 }
 
+int git_config_parse_environment(void) {
+	const char *env = getenv(CONFIG_DATA_ENVIRONMENT);
+	char *envw;
+	const char **argv = NULL;
+	int nr = 0, alloc = 0;
+	int i;
+
+	if (!env)
+		return 0;
+	/* sq_dequote will write over it */
+	envw = xstrdup(env);
+
+	if (sq_dequote_to_argv(envw, &argv, &nr, &alloc) < 0) {
+		free(envw);
+		return error("bogus format in " CONFIG_DATA_ENVIRONMENT);
+	}
+
+	for (i = 0; i < nr; i++) {
+		if (git_config_parse_parameter(argv[i]) < 0) {
+			error("bogus config parameter: %s", argv[i]);
+			free(argv);
+			free(envw);
+			return -1;
+		}
+	}
+
+	free(argv);
+	free(envw);
+	return 0;
+}
+
 static int get_next_char(void)
 {
 	int c;
@@ -560,6 +605,9 @@
 	if (!strcmp(var, "core.editor"))
 		return git_config_string(&editor_program, var, value);
 
+	if (!strcmp(var, "core.askpass"))
+		return git_config_string(&askpass_program, var, value);
+
 	if (!strcmp(var, "core.excludesfile"))
 		return git_config_pathname(&excludes_file, var, value);
 
@@ -773,7 +821,14 @@
 
 int git_config_from_parameters(config_fn_t fn, void *data)
 {
+	static int loaded_environment;
 	const struct config_item *ct;
+
+	if (!loaded_environment) {
+		if (git_config_parse_environment() < 0)
+			return -1;
+		loaded_environment = 1;
+	}
 	for (ct = config_parameters; ct; ct = ct->next)
 		if (fn(ct->name, ct->value, data) < 0)
 			return -1;
@@ -812,10 +867,9 @@
 	}
 	free(repo_config);
 
-	if (config_parameters) {
-		ret += git_config_from_parameters(fn, data);
+	ret += git_config_from_parameters(fn, data);
+	if (config_parameters)
 		found += 1;
-	}
 
 	if (found == 0)
 		return -1;
diff --git a/connect.c b/connect.c
index 02e738a..3450cab 100644
--- a/connect.c
+++ b/connect.c
@@ -621,13 +621,16 @@
 
 char *git_getpass(const char *prompt)
 {
-	char *askpass;
+	const char *askpass;
 	struct child_process pass;
 	const char *args[3];
 	static struct strbuf buffer = STRBUF_INIT;
 
 	askpass = getenv("GIT_ASKPASS");
-
+	if (!askpass)
+		askpass = askpass_program;
+	if (!askpass)
+		askpass = getenv("SSH_ASKPASS");
 	if (!askpass || !(*askpass))
 		return getpass(prompt);
 
diff --git a/diff.c b/diff.c
index 144f2aa..9a5c77c 100644
--- a/diff.c
+++ b/diff.c
@@ -919,7 +919,10 @@
 		free (ecbdata->diff_words->minus.orig);
 		free (ecbdata->diff_words->plus.text.ptr);
 		free (ecbdata->diff_words->plus.orig);
-		free(ecbdata->diff_words->word_regex);
+		if (ecbdata->diff_words->word_regex) {
+			regfree(ecbdata->diff_words->word_regex);
+			free(ecbdata->diff_words->word_regex);
+		}
 		free(ecbdata->diff_words);
 		ecbdata->diff_words = NULL;
 	}
diff --git a/environment.c b/environment.c
index eeb2687..2d0c315 100644
--- a/environment.c
+++ b/environment.c
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
 const char *pager_program;
 int pager_use_color = 1;
 const char *editor_program;
+const char *askpass_program;
 const char *excludes_file;
 enum auto_crlf auto_crlf = AUTO_CRLF_FALSE;
 int read_replace_refs = 1;
@@ -73,6 +74,7 @@
 const char * const local_repo_env[LOCAL_REPO_ENV_SIZE + 1] = {
 	ALTERNATE_DB_ENVIRONMENT,
 	CONFIG_ENVIRONMENT,
+	CONFIG_DATA_ENVIRONMENT,
 	DB_ENVIRONMENT,
 	GIT_DIR_ENVIRONMENT,
 	GIT_WORK_TREE_ENVIRONMENT,
diff --git a/git.c b/git.c
index 8de4810..50a1401 100644
--- a/git.c
+++ b/git.c
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include "builtin.h"
-#include "exec_cmd.h"
 #include "cache.h"
+#include "exec_cmd.h"
+#include "help.h"
 #include "quote.h"
 #include "run-command.h"
 
@@ -56,9 +57,6 @@
 {
 	int handled = 0;
 
-	if (!getenv("GIT_ASKPASS") && getenv("SSH_ASKPASS"))
-		setenv("GIT_ASKPASS", getenv("SSH_ASKPASS"), 1);
-
 	while (*argc > 0) {
 		const char *cmd = (*argv)[0];
 		if (cmd[0] != '-')
@@ -137,7 +135,7 @@
 				fprintf(stderr, "-c expects a configuration string\n" );
 				usage(git_usage_string);
 			}
-			git_config_parse_parameter((*argv)[1]);
+			git_config_push_parameter((*argv)[1]);
 			(*argv)++;
 			(*argc)--;
 		} else {
diff --git a/help.h b/help.h
index 56bc154..b6b12d5 100644
--- a/help.h
+++ b/help.h
@@ -16,14 +16,17 @@
 		putchar(c);
 }
 
-void load_command_list(const char *prefix,
-		struct cmdnames *main_cmds,
-		struct cmdnames *other_cmds);
-void add_cmdname(struct cmdnames *cmds, const char *name, int len);
+extern void list_common_cmds_help(void);
+extern const char *help_unknown_cmd(const char *cmd);
+extern void load_command_list(const char *prefix,
+			      struct cmdnames *main_cmds,
+			      struct cmdnames *other_cmds);
+extern void add_cmdname(struct cmdnames *cmds, const char *name, int len);
 /* Here we require that excludes is a sorted list. */
-void exclude_cmds(struct cmdnames *cmds, struct cmdnames *excludes);
-int is_in_cmdlist(struct cmdnames *c, const char *s);
-void list_commands(const char *title, struct cmdnames *main_cmds,
-		   struct cmdnames *other_cmds);
+extern void exclude_cmds(struct cmdnames *cmds, struct cmdnames *excludes);
+extern int is_in_cmdlist(struct cmdnames *cmds, const char *name);
+extern void list_commands(const char *title,
+			  struct cmdnames *main_cmds,
+			  struct cmdnames *other_cmds);
 
 #endif /* HELP_H */
diff --git a/notes.c b/notes.c
index 7fd2035..70d0013 100644
--- a/notes.c
+++ b/notes.c
@@ -263,11 +263,13 @@
  * To remove a leaf_node:
  * Search to the tree location appropriate for the given leaf_node's key:
  * - If location does not hold a matching entry, abort and do nothing.
+ * - Copy the matching entry's value into the given entry.
  * - Replace the matching leaf_node with a NULL entry (and free the leaf_node).
  * - Consolidate int_nodes repeatedly, while walking up the tree towards root.
  */
-static void note_tree_remove(struct notes_tree *t, struct int_node *tree,
-		unsigned char n, struct leaf_node *entry)
+static void note_tree_remove(struct notes_tree *t,
+		struct int_node *tree, unsigned char n,
+		struct leaf_node *entry)
 {
 	struct leaf_node *l;
 	struct int_node *parent_stack[20];
@@ -282,6 +284,7 @@
 		return; /* key mismatch, nothing to remove */
 
 	/* we have found a matching entry */
+	hashcpy(entry->val_sha1, l->val_sha1);
 	free(l);
 	*p = SET_PTR_TYPE(NULL, PTR_TYPE_NULL);
 
@@ -1003,17 +1006,20 @@
 	note_tree_insert(t, t->root, 0, l, PTR_TYPE_NOTE, combine_notes);
 }
 
-void remove_note(struct notes_tree *t, const unsigned char *object_sha1)
+int remove_note(struct notes_tree *t, const unsigned char *object_sha1)
 {
 	struct leaf_node l;
 
 	if (!t)
 		t = &default_notes_tree;
 	assert(t->initialized);
-	t->dirty = 1;
 	hashcpy(l.key_sha1, object_sha1);
 	hashclr(l.val_sha1);
 	note_tree_remove(t, t->root, 0, &l);
+	if (is_null_sha1(l.val_sha1)) // no note was removed
+		return 1;
+	t->dirty = 1;
+	return 0;
 }
 
 const unsigned char *get_note(struct notes_tree *t,
diff --git a/notes.h b/notes.h
index 65fc3a6..5106761 100644
--- a/notes.h
+++ b/notes.h
@@ -89,8 +89,10 @@
  * IMPORTANT: The changes made by remove_note() to the given notes_tree
  * structure are not persistent until a subsequent call to write_notes_tree()
  * returns zero.
+ *
+ * Return 0 if a note was removed; 1 if there was no note to remove.
  */
-void remove_note(struct notes_tree *t, const unsigned char *object_sha1);
+int remove_note(struct notes_tree *t, const unsigned char *object_sha1);
 
 /*
  * Get the note object SHA1 containing the note data for the given object
diff --git a/t/t3301-notes.sh b/t/t3301-notes.sh
index 96b7581..a2b79a0 100755
--- a/t/t3301-notes.sh
+++ b/t/t3301-notes.sh
@@ -365,6 +365,13 @@
 c9c6af7f78bc47490dbf3e822cf2f3c24d4b9061 268048bfb8a1fb38e703baceb8ab235421bf80c5
 EOF
 
+test_expect_success 'removing non-existing note should not create new commit' '
+	git rev-parse --verify refs/notes/commits > before_commit &&
+	test_must_fail git notes remove HEAD^ &&
+	git rev-parse --verify refs/notes/commits > after_commit &&
+	test_cmp before_commit after_commit
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'list notes with "git notes list"' '
 	git notes list > output &&
 	test_cmp expect output
diff --git a/t/t4018-diff-funcname.sh b/t/t4018-diff-funcname.sh
index 61de8a2..c8e1937 100755
--- a/t/t4018-diff-funcname.sh
+++ b/t/t4018-diff-funcname.sh
@@ -37,8 +37,13 @@
 do
 	test_expect_success "builtin $p pattern compiles" '
 		echo "*.java diff=$p" > .gitattributes &&
-		! ( git diff --no-index Beer.java Beer-correct.java 2>&1 |
-			grep "fatal" > /dev/null )
+		! { git diff --no-index Beer.java Beer-correct.java 2>&1 |
+			grep "fatal" > /dev/null; }
+	'
+	test_expect_success "builtin $p wordRegex pattern compiles" '
+		! { git diff --no-index --word-diff \
+			Beer.java Beer-correct.java 2>&1 |
+			grep "fatal" > /dev/null; }
 	'
 done
 
diff --git a/t/t5400-send-pack.sh b/t/t5400-send-pack.sh
index c718253..5bcf0b8 100755
--- a/t/t5400-send-pack.sh
+++ b/t/t5400-send-pack.sh
@@ -94,6 +94,29 @@
 	test_must_fail git send-pack ./victim :extra master
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'cannot override denyDeletes with git -c send-pack' '
+	(
+		cd victim &&
+		test_might_fail git branch -D extra &&
+		git config receive.denyDeletes true &&
+		git branch extra master
+	) &&
+	test_must_fail git -c receive.denyDeletes=false \
+					send-pack ./victim :extra master
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'override denyDeletes with git -c receive-pack' '
+	(
+		cd victim &&
+		test_might_fail git branch -D extra &&
+		git config receive.denyDeletes true &&
+		git branch extra master
+	) &&
+	git send-pack \
+		--receive-pack="git -c receive.denyDeletes=false receive-pack" \
+		./victim :extra master
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'denyNonFastforwards trumps --force' '
 	(
 	    cd victim &&
diff --git a/t/t5510-fetch.sh b/t/t5510-fetch.sh
index 4eb10f6..efb42d1 100755
--- a/t/t5510-fetch.sh
+++ b/t/t5510-fetch.sh
@@ -240,6 +240,38 @@
 	git fetch blub
 '
 
+# URL supplied to fetch does not match the url of the configured branch's remote
+test_expect_success 'fetch from GIT URL with a non-applying branch.<name>.merge [1]' '
+	one_head=$(cd one && git rev-parse HEAD) &&
+	this_head=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
+	git update-ref -d FETCH_HEAD &&
+	git fetch one &&
+	test $one_head = "$(git rev-parse --verify FETCH_HEAD)" &&
+	test $this_head = "$(git rev-parse --verify HEAD)"
+'
+
+# URL supplied to fetch matches the url of the configured branch's remote and
+# the merge spec matches the branch the remote HEAD points to
+test_expect_success 'fetch from GIT URL with a non-applying branch.<name>.merge [2]' '
+	one_ref=$(cd one && git symbolic-ref HEAD) &&
+	git config branch.master.remote blub &&
+	git config branch.master.merge "$one_ref" &&
+	git update-ref -d FETCH_HEAD &&
+	git fetch one &&
+	test $one_head = "$(git rev-parse --verify FETCH_HEAD)" &&
+	test $this_head = "$(git rev-parse --verify HEAD)"
+'
+
+# URL supplied to fetch matches the url of the configured branch's remote, but
+# the merge spec does not match the branch the remote HEAD points to
+test_expect_success 'fetch from GIT URL with a non-applying branch.<name>.merge [3]' '
+	git config branch.master.merge "${one_ref}_not" &&
+	git update-ref -d FETCH_HEAD &&
+	git fetch one &&
+	test $one_head = "$(git rev-parse --verify FETCH_HEAD)" &&
+	test $this_head = "$(git rev-parse --verify HEAD)"
+'
+
 # the strange name is: a\!'b
 test_expect_success 'quoting of a strangely named repo' '
 	test_must_fail git fetch "a\\!'\''b" > result 2>&1 &&
diff --git a/t/t7008-grep-binary.sh b/t/t7008-grep-binary.sh
index c0f9f3f..e058d18 100755
--- a/t/t7008-grep-binary.sh
+++ b/t/t7008-grep-binary.sh
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 test_expect_success 'setup' "
-	printf 'binary\000file\n' >a &&
+	echo 'binaryQfile' | q_to_nul >a &&
 	git add a &&
 	git commit -m.
 "
@@ -70,32 +70,32 @@
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'git grep -F y<NUL>f a' "
-	printf 'y\000f' >f &&
+	printf 'yQf' | q_to_nul >f &&
 	git grep -f f -F a
 "
 
 test_expect_success 'git grep -F y<NUL>x a' "
-	printf 'y\000x' >f &&
+	printf 'yQx' | q_to_nul >f &&
 	test_must_fail git grep -f f -F a
 "
 
 test_expect_success 'git grep -Fi Y<NUL>f a' "
-	printf 'Y\000f' >f &&
+	printf 'YQf' | q_to_nul >f &&
 	git grep -f f -Fi a
 "
 
 test_expect_failure 'git grep -Fi Y<NUL>x a' "
-	printf 'Y\000x' >f &&
+	printf 'YQx' | q_to_nul >f &&
 	test_must_fail git grep -f f -Fi a
 "
 
 test_expect_success 'git grep y<NUL>f a' "
-	printf 'y\000f' >f &&
+	printf 'yQf' | q_to_nul >f &&
 	git grep -f f a
 "
 
 test_expect_failure 'git grep y<NUL>x a' "
-	printf 'y\000x' >f &&
+	printf 'yQx' | q_to_nul >f &&
 	test_must_fail git grep -f f a
 "
 
diff --git a/t/test-lib.sh b/t/test-lib.sh
index dff5e25..830e5e7 100644
--- a/t/test-lib.sh
+++ b/t/test-lib.sh
@@ -620,7 +620,18 @@
 
 test_must_fail () {
 	"$@"
-	test $? -gt 0 -a $? -le 129 -o $? -gt 192
+	exit_code=$?
+	if test $exit_code = 0; then
+		echo >&2 "test_must_fail: command succeeded: $*"
+		return 1
+	elif test $exit_code -gt 129 -a $exit_code -le 192; then
+		echo >&2 "test_must_fail: died by signal: $*"
+		return 1
+	elif test $exit_code = 127; then
+		echo >&2 "test_must_fail: command not found: $*"
+		return 1
+	fi
+	return 0
 }
 
 # Similar to test_must_fail, but tolerates success, too.  This is
@@ -636,7 +647,15 @@
 
 test_might_fail () {
 	"$@"
-	test $? -ge 0 -a $? -le 129 -o $? -gt 192
+	exit_code=$?
+	if test $exit_code -gt 129 -a $exit_code -le 192; then
+		echo >&2 "test_might_fail: died by signal: $*"
+		return 1
+	elif test $exit_code = 127; then
+		echo >&2 "test_might_fail: command not found: $*"
+		return 1
+	fi
+	return 0
 }
 
 # test_cmp is a helper function to compare actual and expected output.
diff --git a/xdiff-interface.c b/xdiff-interface.c
index cd2285d..e1e054e 100644
--- a/xdiff-interface.c
+++ b/xdiff-interface.c
@@ -286,9 +286,8 @@
 	result = pmatch[i].rm_eo - pmatch[i].rm_so;
 	if (result > buffer_size)
 		result = buffer_size;
-	else
-		while (result > 0 && (isspace(line[result - 1])))
-			result--;
+	while (result > 0 && (isspace(line[result - 1])))
+		result--;
 	memcpy(buffer, line, result);
  fail:
 	free(line_buffer);