Re: rebase parents, or tracking upstream but removing non-distributable bits

[Alexandre Erwin Ittner <listas@ittner.com.br>]

Alexandre Oliva <lxoliva@fsfla.org> wrote

> I need to be able to maintain and publish a modified repository, that
> filters out the unwanted portions, but still be able to pull changes
> from the upstream repository.

Have you tried something with "git filter-branch"? I have never tried
something like this but I think it is possible to automate a process to
(1) pull the changes from the origin into a complete clone, (2) branch
from the HEAD and run "filter-branch" with a customized script to create
a temporary sanitized branch, (3) merge this temporary branch into a
complete sanitized branch, (4) record all the branchpoints, sparing the
next iteration from running through all the history again, and, (5) push
the sanitized branch somewhere.

Of course, this approach creates a complete nightmare with the
integration, testing, and code attribution: it changes the SHA1s,
invalidates signed tags, forces the use of patches instead of pull
requests to the upstream contributions, may taint the validity of the
commit messages and authorship, etc.  Publishing edited commits seems a
delicate subject for me -- your "filter-branch" script should mark their
commit messages as such.


Att.

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Alexandre Erwin Ittner - alexandre@ittner.com.br
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