Re: [PATCH] Change softrefs file format from text (82 bytes per entry) to binary (40 bytes per entry)

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Jun 10, 2007, 08:30 UTC
Message-ID: <7vir9w8b4a.fsf@assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.64.0706100900420.4059@racer.site>

Johannes Schindelin <Johannes.Schindelin@gmx.de> writes:

Show 15 quoted lines

> On Sat, 9 Jun 2007, Johan Herland wrote:
>
>> The text-based softrefs file format uses 82 bytes per entry (40 bytes 
>> from_sha1 in hex, 1 byte SP, 40 bytes to_sha1 in hex, 1 byte LF).
>> 
>> The binary softrefs file format uses 40 bytes per entry (20 bytes 
>> from_sha1, 20 bytes to_sha1).
>> 
>> Moving to a binary format increases performance slightly, but sacrifices 
>> easy readability of the softrefs files.
>
> It is bad style to introduce one type, and then change it to another in a 
> backwards-incompatible way. Either you make it backwards compatible, or 
> you start with the second format, never even mentioning that you had 
> another format.

While I agree with that in principle, I think you are being a bit too harsh to a set of patches that shows possible alternatives for an idea that is not even in any unreleased version of git.

Got out of the wrong side of bed this morning?