Re: [PATCH] rev-list: add "--full-objects" flag.

LT> However, I really don't think it's a very useful option in LT> the first place. Any dumb web-based thing that depends on LT> "--whole-trees" would suck horribly.

I agree with these two sentences now.

However it does not automatically mean that the avenue I have been pursuing would not work; the server side preparation needs to be a bit more careful than what I sent, which unconditionally runs "prune-packed". It instead should leave the files that "--whole-trees" would have packed as plain SHA1 files, so that the bulk is obtained by statically generated packs and the rest can be handled in the commit-chain walker as before.

So, the server side preparation needs be tweaked to do something like:

  (1) Repack when necessary (no --whole-trees).

  (2) For each .git/objects/pack/ pack, make a list of trees and
      blobs that are missing from the commits that contained in
      the same pack.

  (3) Run "prune-packed" but do not prune objects on the list
      produced in the previous step.

  (4) Take inventory, rev-cache, and pack, as done by the posted
      patch.

The determination of (1) is a bit problematic since "when necessary" is not "when .git/objects/?? grew too big" anymore, due to the fact that (3) would deliberately leave plain SHA1 files there.

A completely different way would be to prepare packs of objects based on age, and create an inventory of such packs. Have client download such an inventory, which essentially says "if you have this commit, then slurp these packs and you are done."