Re: [PATCH] pack.indexversion config option now defaults to 2

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Jun 25, 2008, 04:59 UTC
Message-ID: <7vd4m66rfp.fsf@gitster.siamese.dyndns.org>
In-Reply-To: <alpine.LFD.1.10.0806242130450.22069@hp.linux-foundation.org>

Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> writes:

Show 15 quoted lines

> On Wed, 25 Jun 2008, Nicolas Pitre wrote:
>> 
>> Git older than version 1.5.2 (or any other git version with this option
>> set to 1) may revert to version 1 of the pack index by manually deleting
>> all .idx files and recreating them using 'git index-pack'.  Communication
>> over the git native protocol is unaffected since the pack index is never
>> transferred.
>
> Rather than talk about when it does _not_ matter, wouldn't it be better to 
> talk about when it _can_ matter?
>
> Namely when using dumb protocols, either http or rsync, with the other end 
> being some ancient git thing (and it is worth mentioning version of what 
> counts as 'ancient' too, I can't remember, probably means that pretty much 
> nobody else can either).

I agree with you that the description of the change (in the commit log) and the instruction (in the documentation) could be more helpful and explicit.

For the other "usedeltabaseoffset" change, I think the insn in the documentation Nico added is reasonable:

+ By default, linkgit:git-repack[1] creates packs that use + delta-base offset. If you need to share your repository with + git older than version 1.4.4, either directly or via a dumb + protocol such as http, then you need to set this option to + "false" and repack. Access from old git versions over the + native protocol are unaffected by this option.

except perhaps that the "set false and repack" should be clarified further, perhaps like:

	... then you need to set this option to "false" and repack using
	git that is newer than (and including) v1.5.0.

I am basing the above 1.5.0 on description of b6945f5 (git-repack: repo.usedeltabaseoffset, 2006-10-13).

On the "indexVersion" change, the documentation reads:

pack.indexVersion::
	Specify the default pack index version.  Valid values are 1 for
 	legacy pack index used by Git versions prior to 1.5.2, and 2 for
 	the new pack index with capabilities for packs larger than 4 GB
 	as well as proper protection against the repacking of corrupted
+	packs.  Version 2 is the default.  Note that version 2 is enforced
+	and this config option ignored whenever the corresponding pack is
+	larger than 2 GB.

which lacks the recovery insn (and it is int strictly the fault of this patch, but we should have done this when we introduced the v2 idx). I think a separate paragraph after the above would be necessary and sufficient:

	If you have an ancient git that does not understand the version 2
	`*.idx` file, cloning or fetching over a non native protocol
	(e.g. "http" and "rsync") which will copy both `*.pack` file and
	corresponding `*.idx` file from the other side may give you a
	repository that cannot be accessed with your old git.  If the
	`*.pack` file is smaller than 2 GB, however, you can use
	`git-index-pack` on the `*.pack` to regenerate the `*.idx` file.