Re: [PATCH] git checkout -b: unparent the new branch with -o

[Erick Mattos <erick.mattos@gmail.com>]

Thanks for the fast response.  Your level of commitment to this
project is awesome!

2010/2/23 Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
>
> >       git checkout -ob debian
> >       git clean -df
> >       mkdir Debian
> >       add all control files
> >       ...hack it enough...
> >       git add Debian
> >       git commit
>
> I do not think that is a good example.

Well it is just an example. Its intention is to show some practical
data about this proposition.

> If you have an extract of an upstream tarball, say frotz-1.42.tar.gz, and
> you are not porting anything older than that version, why not have two
> branches, frotz and master, and do things this way?
>
>  - frotz (or "vanilla" or "upstream") that keeps track of the "vendor
>   drop" without debian/ directory;
>
>  - master that forks from frotz and adds "debian/" and nothing else; and
>
>  - any other topic branches that either fork from frotz if you are fixing
>   upstream bug (or enhancing the vanilla version), or fork from master if
>   you are fixing or enhancing the debianization.
>
> When you receive frotz-1.43.tar.gz, you will advance 'frotz' branch with
> it, and probably fork maint-1.42 branch from master so that you can keep
> supporting older debianized frotz, while merging frotz into master so that
> you can prepare a debianized version of newer package.

The main point here is not the way one prefers to work.  It is to let
one works the way one wants.  In other words: give more versatility to
what is already working fine.

> Your debianization will _never_ be totally independent of the vendor
> version, so there is no good reason to have it as a rootless branch.

In matter of fact, mine, personally, is.  Please follow:
I normally hack software I want to add features I feel is lacking.  As
a Debian user when I compile it at last to install my version I always
do Debian packages so to let APT do its works.  As I like not to
reinvent the wheel I normally extract the Debian folder from the
normal repository packages.

So after a while I just have in a separate Debian branch the commit
1.5, 1.6, ....  In case I have to change the Debian files then I will
have my commits spread in the middle of this branch.

But as what I had pictured before was a general approach then or you
could be right on your example work flow or separating it could be
better or whatever!  It was just an example.

All commits I post are stuff I use which, following free software
ideology, I just want to share so other people could use it too.  I
know how limited my efforts are to a project like git.  A project like
that needs people really involved and pro-active like you.  But even
being a small contributor I really like to contribute because I think
the approach of free software community is the best for all and it
should be supported by everyone who cares.

I hope some day we could find a way to spread this ideology to
everything else in our society.  Working just to make things better
for no other direct reason; communitarian development; freedom and
demo/meritocracy; ...  :-)

Sorry for writing too much.

Regards.