Re: Tracking a repository for content instead of history

[Andy Parkins <andyparkins@gmail.com>]

On Tuesday 2006 December 12 14:28, Johannes Schindelin wrote:

> You are not by any chance talking about the --remote option to
> git-archive?

I wasn't; but that's certainly a helpful switch.  It's certainly a huge help.

> If you want to reduce the number of objects to be downloaded, by telling
> the other side what you have, you literally end up with something like
> shallow clone: the other side _has_ to support it.

I suppose so; but I was thinking more an automated way of getting the data 
that is supplied for the kernel anyway.  So:

base-v1.0.0.tar.gz
patch-v1.0.1.gz
patch-v1.0.2.gz
etc

Each patch is obviously smaller than "base".  Git could easily make the 
patches, and each of those patches could be fed by hand into a repository 
with git-apply.  It doesn't seem like something that would require support on 
the other side, because it isn't so much a shallow clone (which /would/ 
preserve history, making it available if wanted); it is pulling just, say, 
tagged commits out of an existing repository.

Given a list of tags it is almost:

git-archive <get me base>
ssh remote git-diff v1.0.0..v1.0.1 | git-apply; git commit
ssh remote git-diff v1.0.1..v1.0.2 | git-apply; git commit

If that makes sense?  Obviously though it would be possible to use git rather 
than ssh to do this.

However... please don't waste any more time thinking about this; it's not a 
problem I have that needs a solution - it was more a "because I'm curious" 
sort of question.



Andy
-- 
Dr Andy Parkins, M Eng (hons), MIEE