Re: [boost] git clone up (new clone @ gitorious available)

Subject: Re: [boost] git clone up (new clone @ gitorious available)
From: troy d. straszheim (troy_at_[hidden])
Date: 2009-05-17 21:11:07

Vladimir Prus wrote:
> 
> This presently has a link to 
> 
>         http://sodium.resophonic.com/boost-git.html
> 
> and that one gives 404. 

Fixed, thanks for the heads-up.  I reworked the docs significantly,
they're here:

   http://sodium.resophonic.com/boost-git/

And they reference new a new git mirror that is up here:

   http://gitorious.org/boost

Which should make the whole process quite a bit easier for the beginner.

> <sarcasm>
> While I do use git myself, I still cannot comprehend how 'git clone'
> can work for half-an-hour and that produce something where 'git log'
> throws fits about something called HEAD not existing.
> </sarcasm>
> 
> And now a couple of real questions:
> 
> 1. Is there any way to simulate branches of subdirectories in git? Like,
> switching tools/build/v2 to a branch without affecting anything else?

It's easy to just get the code out,

   git checkout other_branch tools/build/v2

but that checkout isn't tracked.  What's the use case?   It is easy 
enough to just create a branch, put your new stuff on it (if it happens 
to be isolated to one subdirectory, fine) and push it.   There are a 
couple of goodies out there like submodules and the subtree merge 
strategy that I have yet to play with, maybe these are relevant.

> In SVN, we have a branch at: http://svn.boost.org/svn/boost/branches/build/python_port/
> which is branched from trunk/tools/build/v2. Now, in git the branch is called 'build',
> and it contains 'python_port' subdirectory, and that contains entire Boost. It would
> be mightly inconvenient it switching between trunk and python port branch will change
> locations of everything.

Git-svn isn't very good at tracking our haphazard organization of 
branches and tags.  That build/python_port branch is worthless.

If you want to start working on the python port in gitland while 
tracking the svn trunk, see those new docs, most of it is one big 
example of how to do this.  In short, you'd:

- make a gitorious account and your own boost repo clone
- clone your clone down to your local machine
- make two local branches, one for private development (and rebasing), 
one for pushing
- svn export your current python port stuff into the git repository and 
commit.
- follow the instructions for fetching, rebasing and pushing as new 
commits come in to trunk

> 
> 2. Is this meant as read-only medium, or you envision this becoming preferred place
> for on-the-side experimentation, such as branches and sandbox?
> 

Well it is my preferred place for experimentation, certainly, and I know 
I'm not alone.  I'm reluctant to do any 'envisioning' at this point.  :) 
  I guess we have to wait and see.

-t