[GSoC] Libgit2, Summer of Code is over

[GSoC] Libgit2, Summer of Code is over

[Vicent Marti]

Hello everyone,

the Summer of Code has just reached its end and I'd like to offer some
closure; neither me nor my mentors have been too active on the mailing
list -- to be fair, there was too much work to be done on the library
before it could be considered of general interest. We've been focusing
on that.

The original goals for my project were roughly as follows:

* Add support for revision walking
* Add support for accessing the index file
* Add support for managing references (tags)

After the Summer of Code, here's an overview of what has been accomplished:

* Created an abstraction layer for repository management (object
lookup and automatic memory management)
* Add full support (load, parse, manage, interactively access
contents) for all basic repository objects
    - Commits
    - Trees
    - Tags
    - Blobs
* Add support for revision walking: iterator-based access in random,
topological and time based orders.
* Add support for atomic file locks
* Add support to read, modify and write back Index files
* Add support for the 'TREE' extension on Index files
* Finished implementing the reading of objects from pack files

All these features have been properly documented (regarding its
external API) and are accompanied by their corresponding unit tests.
The final version of the code can be found on my GitHub account, on
the experimental branch [1]. It will be eventually merged back to the
official repository. Overall, it has been an interesting experience,
and it seems like the development of the library is not going to halt
after the Summer of Code.

Thanks for your time and interest during the summer.

Cheers,
Vicent Marti

[1]: http://github.com/tanoku/libgit2-gsoc2010/commits/gsoc-experimental

Re: [GSoC] Libgit2, Summer of Code is over

[Sverre Rabbelier]

Heya,

On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 14:46, Vicent Marti <tanoku@gmail.com> wrote:
> All these features have been properly documented (regarding its
> external API) and are accompanied by their corresponding unit tests.

Wow, very nice, looks like you've got a lot done.

> The final version of the code can be found on my GitHub account, on
> the experimental branch [1].

Why is it on an 'experimental' branch? With all the tests passing etc.
doesn't it make sense to get it on a more stable-sounding branchname?
:)

> It will be eventually merged back to the
> official repository.

How about getting git.git using it? That would make sure it would
actually be usable and maintained. :)

> Overall, it has been an interesting experience,
> and it seems like the development of the library is not going to halt
> after the Summer of Code.

Does that mean you're planning to continue contributing? I would be
awesome to have another maintainer for libgit2.

-- 
Cheers,

Sverre Rabbelier

Re: [GSoC] Libgit2, Summer of Code is over

[Vicent Marti]

On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 11:43 PM, Sverre Rabbelier <srabbelier@gmail.com> wrote:
> Why is it on an 'experimental' branch? With all the tests passing etc.
> doesn't it make sense to get it on a more stable-sounding branchname?
> :)

The code base underwent massive refactoring in the last week of the
Summer, so it's still experimental until the new design is properly
reviewed, even if it passes all the tests. Give it a couple weeks. ^^

>
>> It will be eventually merged back to the
>> official repository.
>
> How about getting git.git using it? That would make sure it would
> actually be usable and maintained. :)

That would be certainly great, however libgit2 is still missing too
many features to replace the core of git.git. We are working on it,
though.

>
>> Overall, it has been an interesting experience,
>> and it seems like the development of the library is not going to halt
>> after the Summer of Code.
>
> Does that mean you're planning to continue contributing? I would be
> awesome to have another maintainer for libgit2.

Yes, I do plan to continue contributing. There's still plenty of work left. :)

Cheers,
Vicent Marti

Re: [GSoC] Libgit2, Summer of Code is over

[Ramkumar Ramachandra]

Hi Vincent,

Vicent Marti writes:
> > How about getting git.git using it? That would make sure it would
> > actually be usable and maintained. :)
> 
> That would be certainly great, however libgit2 is still missing too
> many features to replace the core of git.git. We are working on it,
> though.

Are there some rewrites of existing components that can be merged
immediately? I'm sure we can pull together some manpower if necessary
and start merging it bit-by-bit. It'll be impossible to review the
whole thing at once anyway.

-- Ram

Re: [GSoC] Libgit2, Summer of Code is over

[Tay Ray Chuan]

Hi,

On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 3:46 AM, Vicent Marti <tanoku@gmail.com> wrote:
> the Summer of Code has just reached its end and I'd like to offer some
> closure; neither me nor my mentors have been too active on the mailing
> list -- to be fair, there was too much work to be done on the library
> before it could be considered of general interest. We've been focusing
> on that.

IIRC, Scott Chacon from github is your mentor?

I wonder if libgit2 is being used at github (either directly or via
ruby bindings) - not only will it help through real-world testing, it
will also help to boost "street-cred".

-- 
Cheers,
Ray Chuan

Re: [GSoC] Libgit2, Summer of Code is over

[Vicent Marti]

On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 3:53 AM, Tay Ray Chuan <rctay89@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 3:46 AM, Vicent Marti <tanoku@gmail.com> wrote:
>> the Summer of Code has just reached its end and I'd like to offer some
>> closure; neither me nor my mentors have been too active on the mailing
>> list -- to be fair, there was too much work to be done on the library
>> before it could be considered of general interest. We've been focusing
>> on that.
>
> IIRC, Scott Chacon from github is your mentor?

Yes, he is.

>
> I wonder if libgit2 is being used at github (either directly or via
> ruby bindings) - not only will it help through real-world testing, it
> will also help to boost "street-cred".

The library is not ready for production use; however, as far as I know
they are interested on eventually using it -- when it's ready. I do
agree, that would mean a massive boost to its credentials and
development.

Cheers,
Vicent Marti

Re: [GSoC] Libgit2, Summer of Code is over

[Nguyen Thai Ngoc Duy]

On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 5:46 AM, Vicent Marti <tanoku@gmail.com> wrote:
> After the Summer of Code, here's an overview of what has been accomplished:
> ...
> * Finished implementing the reading of objects from pack files

Yay. I can now go back and finish my git fuse module. Will check
libgit2 out soon.
-- 
Duy