Re: [Gnu-arch-users] Re: give us a hand with arch

[Bruce Stephens]

Andrea Arcangeli <address@hidden> writes:

> On Sun, Sep 28, 2003 at 07:11:30AM -0400, Miles Bader wrote:
>> On Sun, Sep 28, 2003 at 12:12:49PM +0200, Andrea Arcangeli wrote:
>> > Sorry but I disagree here and that's the very reason the tag-id are
>> > metadata and they're not data, and they provide zero value to the
>> > project in the long run.
>> 
>> Actually they provide quite a bit of value.  I have no idea, why you seem so
>> intent on moaning about them (are you afraid they _will_ get used for 
>> linux?).
> Can you answer a very simple question?
>
> Tell me what advantages and disavantages I would have by adding
> tagline to all files, compared to explicit, with strict commits. If
> you find a single advantage I will add them. Problem is you can't
> because there aren't. There are only disavantages, this is a
> tangible fact.

The disadvantage is that you have to put a special line in each file
giving its tag.  How much of a disadvantage that is (i.e., whether
it's acceptable at all) is likely to depend on who else is working on
the project.  For emacs, it seems that it was acceptable to modify all
files; for the linux kernel, it may well not be.

> You know strict commits force me to do something on the lines of
> `tla add/move/delete-tag`. So far so good.

That's necessary for the explicit tagging method, because otherwise
arch would have no way to know which files were intended to be
committed, or how they'd been renamed.  But that's what taglines give
you---a neat way to determine all that without you having to be so
explicit.

I see a problem with it, however.  Taglines aren't used to drive an
explicit mechanism underneath, so tagging methods are somewhat
incompatible---it's best to choose one and stick to it, although
changing isn't impossible.  On the other hand, that's also a good
thing, since the current implementation of explicit is poor, IMHO.

Taglines seem like a neat idea, to me.  And one that any CM system
could use.  However, I suspect the truth is that the things that
taglines help with just aren't that bothersome---it's fine to require
people to say when they've added, deleted or renamed a file.

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