Re: [tlug] bash and grep and diff

[Pier Fumagalli <pier@example.com>]

On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 07:46, Fredric Fredricson <Fredric.Fredricson@example.com> wrote:

[...] I guess the strength of git is the same as it's weakness, no central repository.

I tend to agree. One of the reasons why I personally prefer VCSs with a centralized repository system over distributed ones is that having a distributed repository tends to promote the development of significant contributions in isolation.

Being a fan of "community development" (whether the community is an open source one, or a group of people working in the same office) I am profoundly convinced that code reviews and peer development are key to a successful project. "Commit early, review often, integrate constantly".

In all the realities I've had the luck (or misfortune) to observe, code integration and review happened way more often where VCSs have a central repository, while in fully distributed environments, developers tend to more easily go off on their own tangent for a few days/weeks/months and integrate less often.

And it's true that even with distributed repositories one can set up a master one and do all the integration in one single place, but developers have the tendency to do "git commit" more often than "git push"... With Subversion (to cite one) where "commit" and "push" are de-facto the same operation, the problem doesn't show that often.

It's true, all based on developer's culture and habit, but as everywhere else "freedom" and "control" stand at the opposite ends of the scale...

    Pier