Re: VCS comparison table

From: Andreas Ericsson <ae@op5.se>
Date: Oct 27, 2006, 09:34 UTC
Message-ID: <4541D291.5020205@op5.se>
In-Reply-To: <200610270202.k9R22Wxf004208@laptop13.inf.utfsm.cl>

Horst H. von Brand wrote:

Show 14 quoted lines

> Jakub Narebski <jnareb@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> [...]
> 
>> I'd rather split "Supports Renames" into engine part (does SCM
>> remember/detect that rename took place _as_ rename, not remember/detect it
>> as copiying+deletion; something other than rename) and user interface part:
>> can user easily deal with renames (this includes merging and viewing file
>> history).
> 
> I think that what to tool does in its guts is completely irrelevant, what
> is important is what the user sees. Sadly, it seems hard to describe
> exactly what is meant/wanted here.
>

Agreed. I'd rather make the definition "Can users, after a rename has taken place, follow the history of the file-contents across renames?". Mainly because this is clearly unambiguous, doesn't involve implementation details and only weighs what really counts: User-visible capabilities.

IMNSHO, I'd rather have all the features in the list be along the lines of "Can users/admins/random-boon do X?" and instead of "yes/no" list the number of commands/the amount of time required to achieve the desired effect. This would set a clear limit and put most terminology issues out of the way.

Show 9 quoted lines

> 
>> 13. Plugins. I would put "Somewhat" here, or "Scriptable" in the "Somewhat"
>> or "?" background color for Git. And add note that it is easy to script up
>> porcelanish command, and to add another merge strategy. There also was
>> example plugin infrastructure for Cogito, so I'd opt for "Someahwt"
>> marking.
> 
> Mostly an implementation detail for "extensible"...
>

Yup. Any fast-growing SCM can clearly be said to be "extensible", otherwise it wouldn't be extended ;-)

Show 7 quoted lines

> [...]
> 
>> 19. Ease of Use. Hmmm... I don't know for Git. I personally find it very
>> easy to use, but I have not much experiences with other SCM. I wonder why
>> Bazaar has "No" there...
> 
> Extremely subjective. Easy to learn doesn't cut it either.

This one just needs to go. Could possibly be replaced with "Has tutorial/documentation online" or some such. No SCM is really intuitive to users that haven't experienced any of them before, so the only thing that really matters is how much documentation one can find online and how up-to-date it is.

-- 
Andreas Ericsson                   andreas.ericsson@op5.se
OP5 AB                             www.op5.se