Add optional 'author' param when making commits

What does this MR do?

This fulfills https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/20789 by adding the ability to specify a user's ID to be used as the author of a commit.

Why was this MR needed?

To fulfill https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/20789

What are the relevant issue numbers?

Closes https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/20789

Does this MR meet the acceptance criteria?

• CHANGELOG entry added
  • Will do after this has been reviewed
• Documentation created/updated
  • Updated the File API doc
• API support added
  • This MR adds an optional param to the Files API requests
• Tests
  • Added for this feature/bug
  • All builds are passing
• Conform by the style guides
• Branch has no merge conflicts with master (if you do - rebase it please)
• Squashed related commits together

Added 462 commits:

• abe1a505...30091edf - 460 commits from branch gitlab-org:master
• b44cbd7b - Add support for passing the author when creating dirs, updating files, and removing files
• f473ecc1 - Merge branch 'master' of https://gitlab.com/dandunckelman/gitlab-ce into add_opt…

Marked the task Documentation created/updated as completed

Marked the task API support added as completed

Marked the task Conform by the style guides as completed

Marked the task Branch has no merge conflicts with master (if you do - rebase it please) as completed

Added 2 commits:

• 6bc0504f - Add author param to curl example
• 71acc339 - Update describes to match styleguide

Added 30 commits:

• 71acc339...59fa031e - 29 commits from branch gitlab-org:master
• ce7fe366 - Add optional 'author' param when making commits

Added 1 commit:

• a654e604 - Refactor to use 'get_commit_options' and rename the 'user_to_author' method to 'get_author'

Added 14 commits:

• a654e604...9e7231bd - 13 commits from branch gitlab-org:master
• 7d3a1e9c - Add optional 'author' param when making commits

Added 7 commits:

• 7d3a1e9c...31570c12 - 6 commits from branch gitlab-org:master
• 3499fdd5 - Add optional 'author' param when making commits

Marked the task Squashed related commits together as completed

Marked the task Added for this feature/bug as completed

Unmarked this merge request as a Work In Progress

mentioned in issue #21066 (closed)

Added 291 commits:

• 3499fdd5...cd102716 - 290 commits from branch gitlab-org:master
• cd1ccb92 - Add optional 'author' param when making commits

mentioned in issue #21107 (closed)

Added ~480950 ~164274 labels

Marked the task All builds are passing as completed

@smcgivern I saw you added some labels. Just wanted to mention that I saw the build passed and see if I could get some attention on this.

Could you or someone else take a look and provide some feedback? Thanks

@dandunckelman you couldn't see it, but I'd also added a todo! Looking now.

Thanks @dandunckelman, this looks great so far! I know I have a bunch of comments up there but they are mostly stylistic rather than a problem with the overall approach.

If there isn't a CHANGELOG section for 8.12 by the time you look at this again, please add it and add this MR to it, crediting yourself

Just finished walking thru the comments and will get crackin' on the list of changes now. Shouldn't take long.

Thanks for all the help.

Added 150 commits:

• cd1ccb92...5c7bca33 - 149 commits from branch gitlab-org:master
• 721112e2 - Add optional 'author' param when making commits

Marked the task CHANGELOG entry added as completed

Added 6 commits:

• 721112e2...f41098ad - 5 commits from branch gitlab-org:master
• 25592d6b - Add optional 'author' param when making commits

Added 39 commits:

• 25592d6b...02591b04 - 38 commits from branch gitlab-org:master
• 6502307b - Add optional 'author' param when making commits

Added 1 commit:

• 53b7b7df - Add optional 'author' param when making commits

Added 1 commit:

• 1a5d27bc - Add optional 'author' param when making commits

@dandunckelman this is coming along very nicely! Sorry for all the back and forth but I definitely think this is getting there.

(Poking my head in because I got mentioned.)

I am trying to wrap my head around what we are trying to do here. Reading https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/20147#note_13619126 it sounds like this is about creating commits on behalf of 'guest' users.

What I don't understand is why we have to use GitLab user ID's. I see complicated stuff regarding questions like 'does the guest user have access to the project'.

The way Git works, you can already push commits with anything / anyone you want as the author; it is just a string in the commit metadata. If the new API thingy used an author string we would not have to introduce a new capability to the 'guest' access level (namely the capability to have commits authored on your behalf pushed into the repository by someone else). Wouldn't that be simpler?

I realize I am butting in in the middle of things here but I thought I should ask.

@jacobvosmaer-gitlab that makes sense to me! @dandunckelman would that work for you?

@smcgivern @jacobvosmaer-gitlab I'm all for keeping complexity low.

So, how about I rework it so the API takes in an author name and email?

@dandunckelman +1

Yay!

Added 383 commits:

• 1a5d27bc...7dd97cff - 382 commits from branch gitlab-org:master
• eeb2aec6 - Add optional 'author' param when making commits

Added 1 commit:

• 36977f30 - Add optional 'author' param when making commits