Re: [boost] [git] Mercurial?

Subject: Re: [boost] [git] Mercurial?
From: David Bergman (David.Bergman_at_[hidden])
Date: 2012-03-20 23:59:00

On Mar 20, 2012, at 11:50 PM, Rene Rivera wrote:

[snip]

> On 3/20/2012 10:15 PM, David Bergman wrote:
>> We evidently have different styles of formal solving; mine is a
>> balance between an internal - or semi-internal - process and an
>> "accountable" collaborative effort. I do not see the value of
>> everybody seeing every single key stroke I make, as long as they see
>> certain sync points; actually, quite analogously to the operational
>> semantics of C++ - that certain points at the execution have to
>> follow some rules...
> 
> Hm.. I must be not understanding something.. Are you arguing that not all commits/check-ins you do to a local/private repository are important enough to merit the benefits of collaboration?

Yes.

In my experience as a member and lead, there are certain parts of the thinking - even the more concretely formal part of it - that is better done in isolation. What I have seen is that a tool like Git, where people can easily create branches without anyone else seeing them immediately, people do get rid of their fears of trying. This especially goes for junior (i.e., those who have not done their 10k hours of programming yet) developers.

> I ask because my contention is that if it's important enough for you to put something into a VCS history, it's important enough for you collaborators to inspect it.. for perpetuity.

That is not my contention at all. I do not see auditing as the primary reason for version control systems, but instead a tool to take development forward in a - yes - accountable and consistent way.

> And that the sooner that inspection happens the better it is for everyone. Hence that deleting such history is counter to collaboration.
> 
> Note, I'm not arguing against DVCSs.. Just against the ones that encourage such a practice. Or alternatively, warning that having a process that encourages the practice of deleting history is something that should be avoided, regardless of VCS.

As I said, we have different views on software development. For *my* approach to formal problem solving, the conceptual - and actual - locality and lightness of branch creation is a big plus. And, yes, to bring stuff forward in a responsible way rather than keep an accurate audit of everything that has happened.

/David

> 
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