Re: [PATCH] git-rebase.sh: Change .dotest directory to .git-dotest

On Tue, 5 Feb 2008, Jari Aalto wrote:

I do agree.

The whole (and _only_) reason for the directory being called ".dotest" is literally totally silly and historical:

 - I long since wrote my own stupid scripts around BK (and called 
   my set of scripts around BK "bktools")

 - that script set included a script to extract the patch and description 
   from a mailbox.

 - that script was called "dotest", because it started out as a testing 
   script, and I never re-named it. And while my bktools set had other 
   scripts in it, that was the one I used _every_single_day_, so "dotest" 
   is not only always in my shell history, it's also hardcoded in my 
   brainstem.

 - BitMover eventually merged an improved version of my mbox applicator 
   scripts into bitkeeper, making much of it pointless, but I kept the 
   name around as a shell macro, because it was what I was used to (I 
   think it basically expanded into something like "bk import -temail" or 
   something)

 - when I started git, I *rewrote* those old bktools for git, and created 
   a new "git-tools" directory. And yes, the script that actually tied all 
   the mail splitting and application together was *still* called 
   "dotest", because it was still what I used.

 - again, time passes, and again, my helper scripts end up migrating into 
   the actual SCM, now called "git applymbox" (and then later "git am"), 
   but yet *again*, I cannot teach myself to call it anything sane, so my 
   .bashrc file still contains

	alias dotest='git-am --utf8'

   and I still write "dotest" when I apply emails. Even though it hasn't 
   been about "testing" for the last five years or so, and it's how I do 
   all my work.

So the temporary directory that contains all the temp-files for my "dotest" script (which was external to git) - it's called ".dotest". Of course.

It all makes perfect sense. Or rather, it made sense way back when. I agree that it's just totally insane these days, and ".dotest/" should be renamed to something like ".git/split/" or something.

		Linus