Re: [PATCHv2] submodules: overhaul documentation

> On Thu, Jun 22, 2017 at 1:20 PM, Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> wrote:
> > Brandon Williams <bmwill@google.com> writes:
> >
> >> On 06/20, Stefan Beller wrote:
> >> ...
> >>> +The configuration of submodules
> >>> +-------------------------------
> >>> +
> >>> +Submodule operations can be configured using the following mechanisms
> >>> +(from highest to lowest precedence):
> >>> +
> >>> + * the command line for those commands that support taking submodule specs.
> >>> +
> >>> + * the configuration file `$GIT_DIR/config` in the superproject.
> >>> +
> >>> + * the `.gitmodules` file inside the superproject. A project usually
> >>> +   includes this file to suggest defaults for the upstream collection
> >>> +   of repositories.
> >>
> >> I dislike this last point.  Realistically we don't want this right?  So
> >> perhaps we shouldn't include it?
> >
> > I am not sure if I follow.  Without .gitmodules, how would you, as a
> > downstream developer, bootstrap the whole thing?
> >
> 
> I think Brandon eludes to our long term vision of having a separate
> magic ref containing these informations instead of carrying it in tree.
> 
> As urls change over time, it is better to keep the urls out of the
> actual history, but still versioned so maybe we'll want to have
> a ref/submodule-config/master ref that contains all the bootstrapping
> information. The .gitmodules file would degenerate to a pure
> name<->path mapping.