Re: [PATCHv2] Update gitworkflows man page to include release workflow

From: Thomas Rast <trast@student.ethz.ch>
Date: Nov 12, 2009, 08:27 UTC
Message-ID: <200911120927.16764.trast@student.ethz.ch>
In-Reply-To: <1257869339-15999-2-git-send-email-rocketraman@fastmail.fm>

Here's my promised review of the whole patch. Much of the text fits my understanding of what's actually going on, but Junio will have the final word on what he actually does (or what a sensible simplification might be).

rocketraman@fastmail.fm wrote:

> +The current maintenance branch is optionally copied to another branch
> +named with the older release version number (e.g. maint-X.Y.(Z-1)
> +where X.Y.Z is the previous release). This allows for further
> +maintenance releases on the older codebase.

The use of Z-1 confused me; I guess by "previous release" you mean "the release we just tagged in the last step". Otherwise the maint version number would come out wrong.

Show 9 quoted lines

> +.Update maint to new release
> +[caption="Recipe: "]
> +=====================================
> +* `git checkout maint`
> +* `git merge master`
> +=====================================
> +
> +This updates 'maint' from 'master', while preserving the 'maint'
> +reflog.

I agree with what Junio said in the other mail: it's important at this point that this was a fast-forward. (If it's not, master could be missing some fixes made on maint.)

> +An alternative approach to updating the 'maint' branch is to run
> +
> +  $ git branch -f maint master

In my book the alternative approach is

  git branch -m maint maint-X.Y.(Z-1)
  git branch maint master

I'd rather not teach users to play with loaded guns, much less in a "good examples of workflows" manpage.

-- 
Thomas Rast
trast@{inf,student}.ethz.ch