Re: converting gnulib: cvs to git

[Nix]

On 4 Dec 2006, Paul Eggert outgrape:

> Simon Josefsson <address@hidden> writes:
>
>> I find these markers useful when comparing file dates when updating
>> old software, and I think it would be a clear disadvantage if moving
>> to git won't make the same thing possible.
>
> They are controversial.  I'd rather remove them, at least in the files
> I help maintain.  They cause me more problems than they cure, because
> they introduce spurious changes.  Call me an Aristotelian if you like,
> but I prefer to keep metadata separate from data.

They're actually harmful in git-based projects because they maintain the
illusion that comparing files by date can provide any information at
all, when what you're really interested in is the connectivity graph of
commits (two changes made at the same time might not land in the same
*tree* for months or years, if at all, living in different branches and
different repos up until then). gitk can show you that (as can the
underlying git-rev-list primitive, but gitk is easier to grasp when
there is lots of distributed activity).

These dates were useful when dealing with version control systems that
didn't provide proper changesets and versioned files individually.
Their time has passed.

-- 
`The main high-level difference between Emacs and (say) UNIX, Windows,
 or BeOS... is that Emacs boots quicker.' --- PdS