FAQ Q: another version control system?

Do we really need another version control system?  As I understand it,
this is like a distributed, central-server-less, CVS, sorry, SVN
server.

But why isn't such a feature set added into SVN?  Why do I have to
download another version control system just so that I can "git"
libxcb and X11 so that I can compile gtk so that I can compile xchat
so that I can go onto the IRC server for madwifi so that I can ask
someone there why their wifi drivers don't create a /dev/wifi0 on my
system so that I can get my wireless working????

Aaaaah.

[Cc: Peter [off-list ref], git@vger.kernel.org]

Peter wrote:

Do we really need another version control system?  As I understand it,
this is like a distributed, central-server-less, CVS, sorry, SVN
server.

There is large difference between centralized and distributed SCMs.

Besides, thats like asking why we have so many Linux distributions, or why
we have KDE, GNOME, XFCE, etc.

But why isn't such a feature set added into SVN?

There is SVK which is distributed SCM built on top of Subversion.
But there are some things that cannot be done because it uses SVN
as engine. Performance is one of them.

Why do I have to 
download another version control system just so that I can "git"
libxcb and X11 so that I can compile gtk so that I can compile xchat
so that I can go onto the IRC server for madwifi so that I can ask
someone there why their wifi drivers don't create a /dev/wifi0 on my
system so that I can get my wireless working????

You don't need to install git to download and install programs; there are
tarballs and packages. You don't even need git to work on program and send
corrections, although it is recommended.

-- 
Jakub Narebski
Warsaw, Poland
ShadeHawk on #git

On Wednesday 2007 May 02, Peter wrote:

I suspect you are a troll as your questions have such obvious answers that 
they hardly seem worth giving.  Despite that, I'll answer them for the sake 
of the googlers who stumble on your message.

Do we really need another version control system?  As I understand it,
this is like a distributed, central-server-less, CVS, sorry, SVN
server.

Why didn't the subversion guys just add their features to CVS?  The subversion 
guys are not stupid people - why haven't they added these features to 
subversion?  The answer is that they fundamentally don't fit.  Distributed 
version control is not just something you patch in later as a feature - it is 
designed in from the beginning.  Have a look at the monstrosity that is svk 
(distributed version control with a subversion backend).

But why isn't such a feature set added into SVN?  Why do I have to
download another version control system just so that I can "git"
libxcb and X11 so that I can compile gtk so that I can compile xchat
so that I can go onto the IRC server for madwifi so that I can ask
someone there why their wifi drivers don't create a /dev/wifi0 on my
system so that I can get my wireless working????

Given that git is converting a lot of subversion/CVS users - including the 
projects you list above, do you not think that they might have had a reason 
for doing so?  Don't ask git developers why they wrote git - go and ask those 
projects why they are using it.

Practically, I think you're overstating the difficulty of "downloading another 
version control system".  On debian/ubuntu you would do:

 $ sudo apt-get install git-core

If you really did want to compile these things, then you would do:

 $ cd src
 $ git clone git://anongit.freedesktop.org/git/xorg/xserver.git
 $ git clone git://anongit.freedesktop.org/git/xcb.git
 ... etc ...

But are you seriously suggesting that you need to compile the latest and 
greatest X11/xcb/gtk/xchat just to chat on IRC?  Why not just do

 $ sudo apt-get install xchat

If your distribution doesn't supply an apt-get equivalent then you must have 
picked one where you compile everything from source by hand - in which case - 
what are you moaning about - you did this to yourself?



Andy

-- 
Dr Andy Parkins, M Eng (hons), MIET
andyparkins@gmail.com

On Wed, 2 May 2007, Peter wrote:

Do we really need another version control system?  As I understand it, 
this is like a distributed, central-server-less, CVS, sorry, SVN server.

It is obvious that you are a fresh subscriber, since the answer to your 
question is given multiple times a day. Not like in "This is why you 
cannot enhance SVN to behave as Git does", but more like in "This feature 
of Git allows you to do [...]".

I can only invite you to sift through the mail archive. I _could_ point 
you to a really recent mail from Linus, which explains very much why SVN 
just cannot do -- however hard you try -- what Git can. But then, you 
would miss out on so many other interesting emails which you haven't read 
yet.

So, now it is up to you to actually invest some time and learn something.

Ciao,
Dscho

On 5/2/07, Peter [off-list ref] wrote:

But why isn't such a feature set added into SVN?  Why do I have to
download another version control system just so that I can "git"
libxcb and X11 so that I can compile gtk so that I can compile xchat

If you are just a user trying to get a development version of libxcb,
I am sure that you can download a snapshot -- if the project doesn't
offer them formally, it'll probably have a "gitweb" thingy to browse
the development history online that also allows you to download a
snapshot. If it's really x.org they _definitely_ have gitweb (just
like viewsvn or viewcvs). No need to get git.

If you are a developer, git knows a lot of tricks that svn/cvs don't,
things that change how a large and broad project is developed. Lots of
people find it worthwhile, so chances are there'll be a payoff to the
pain of learning it. :-)

cheers,


martin