On Dec 27, 2010, Richard Stallman <r...@gnu.org> wrote: > To merge changes from the original repository to our repository, it > would suffice to re-convert the new version of the original > repository. You can then merge from that into our repository.
That could be done, I guess, but it would be way too cumbersome. Cleaning up the repository is not something I'd like to have to do every time some commit makes to some repository out there. If we can't get something that enables us (or others) to “git pull” or “git merge” to bring in changes from other existing branches, including Linus' tree, I don't think it's going to work. Ideally we'd have a repository that people could clone and develop on, instead of the Linux git tree, but that still enabled easy pulling from (and pushing to) Linus'-based trees. I'm speaking in git terms here, because the goal is to offer a repository that would fit into the workflow of kernel developers. > That might be ridiculously slow, but I am sure it could be optimized. Being slow is not the only problem. What you're suggesting is what the git documentation calls “rewriting history”, and it explains why doing this would make it impossible to perform merges, including updating our tree from Linus'. http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/user-manual.html#problems-With-rewriting-history > But it isn't our problem. We can leave it to be implemented by > someone who wants it. Well, *I* want it. It won't be really useful for me otherwise. > I think you are being hampered by the feeling that this ought to be > trivial. No, what ought to be trivial is the use *after* the repository is converted. What you have proposed is unfortunately anything but. If I just wanted an incompatible git repository, I'd import the existing Linux-libre releases into it and be done with it. But it takes far more than that to be able to track Linus' tree, and it takes understanding of how git works internally to realize the problems. That's why I asked for help from someone who had deep knowledge of this tool. The easy approaches, I've already tried, and they don't give me anything useful. -- Alexandre Oliva, freedom fighter http://FSFLA.org/~lxoliva/ You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -- Gandhi Be Free! -- http://FSFLA.org/ FSF Latin America board member Free Software Evangelist Red Hat Brazil Compiler Engineer