Re: Adding Git to Better SCM Initiative : Comparison

From: Jakub Narebski <jnareb@gmail.com>
Date: Dec 10, 2007, 17:21 UTC
Message-ID: <m3zlwisbxx.fsf@roke.D-201>
In-Reply-To: <20071210165052.GA22327@pe.Belkin>

Chris Shoemaker <c.shoemaker@cox.net> writes:

Show 18 quoted lines

> On Mon, Dec 10, 2007 at 03:49:39PM +0100, Florian Weimer wrote:
> > * Jakub Narebski:
> > 
> > > +                <s id="git">
> > > +                    Yes (or no depending on interpretation). Git
> > 
> > This should be "No." (same for copies below).
> 
> ISTM that people are stuck using less than helpful criteria for
> judging whether renames are supported.  Namely, in effect, they ask:
> "Does the user get to do extra work in order to get rename-detection?"
> 
> Let me humbly suggest an alternate, two-fold, very practical criteria
> that I actually care about as a user:
> 
> 1) If I edit file A, while another developer renames file A to B, and
> I merge my work with his, do I have to clean things up myself, or does
> everything Just Work?

The only thing Git doesn't implement _yet_ is when you have renamed a directory, and another developer created a new file in the old directory name. Currently Git creates new files in old directory. Note however that moving files to other directory might need changes in files: for example Java, or header files includes in C/C++. This is not very common, though.

BTW. this issue is in TODO for "Better SCM : Comparison"
 * Add intelligent merging of renamed paths.

> 2) If I'm browsing the history of some code in a renamed file, does
> the history continue through the rename?

And Git does support it in both "git blame" (or "git gui blame"), and in "git log" thanks to --follow option.

Note however that --follow cannot be used (yet?) with directories or pathspecs. Not that other SCMs support wildcard pathspec limiting...

> By these criteria, git certainly does support renames.

That's why I wrote "Yes", adding "or no" (as suggested by Robin Rosenberg) because it does it dofferently than other SCMs.

-- 
Jakub Narebski
Poland
ShadeHawk on #git