[Gnu-arch-users] Default version for star-merge

[James Blackwell]

I very recently taught a friend how to use arch. A day later, he came back
to me and essentially asked: Since star-merge is commonly used to merge
changes from the version you originally tagged from, why not make
the default version to star-merge the version you tagged from.

My initial reaction was a knee jerk one; the concept of parentage is much
too weak to have any sort of default version for a tool like star-merge.

But the more I thought about it, with a star topology, there really is a
parent-child relationship between the center of the star and the spokes.
Whats more, the idea that changes propogate both ways is a naive one; for
each person at the center of the star that is star-merging/cherry picking
from his spokes, there are anywhere from one to dozens of people merging
from him. 

Considering how star-merge happens to have a common case (the spoke
star-merging from center), then we can easily locate a sane default
argument for star-merge -- the version that we originally tagged from.

I actually think this is a good idea. Doing this slightly encourages
people to follow their parent tree a little closer.

Regards,
James



-- 
James Blackwell          Try something fun: For the next 24 hours, give
Smile more!              each person you meet a compliment!

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