Re: [Monotone-devel] Re: user-friendly hash formats, redux

[Logan Sackette]

Hi All.

I have been a member of the mailing list for a long
time.  Monotone has replaced CVS and SVN for me (I
moved from CVS to SVN first). One thing that keeps
coming up is the usage of hash values and a possible
user friendly way to hide them.

I use clearcase at work everyday.  As far as I can
tell, CC uses a UUID and a GUID for objects.  It also
has this concept of a "config spec" file, which might
be too complex for some people.  You "config spec"
allows you to set the visibility of objects among
other things.  But why can't MT's hash values be like
a UUID or GUID and we have simple version reference
like CC?  Something like:  

<VC object>/<branch>/<version number> would map to a
hash value.  Sure, there will have to be a database
mapping versions on a branch to a hash value.

diff blah.c/my_branch/3 blah.c/your_branch/latest

I should have stated earlier that I don't know
anything about the implementation of a VC system.  I
am not saying this will be easy, but I think we ought
to focus on ease of use and then ease of
implementation.  Who benefits from having something
that is easy to implement but difficult to use?  

Using CC, versions of an object and their branches is
like a tree.  Versions on a branch are just like
versions on the "main" line.  Assume that blah.c was
branched at version 2 off of "main" or the "trunk" as
some call it. My interpretation of this setup for
version 3 of blah.c on branch Y off of branch X can be
pictured like this:

<meta-data about blac.c>
  |
  +-<main>
    |
    +-<versions>
      |
      +-0
      |
      +-1
      |
      +-2
        |
        +-<branches>
          |
          +-<branch X>
            |
            +-<some other branch>
              |
              +-<branch Y>
                |
                +-<versions>
                  |
                  +-0  // version before first checkin
                  |
                  +-1
                  .
                  .
                  |
                  +-3 

NOTE: Main has a version tree similar to the branches.
  Version 0 of a branch is the SAME as the version
from where it was branched.

To support something like this, we would need to
redefine a few terminologies.

Just my 2 cents.

Thanks.

.v



                
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Get it on your mobile phone. 
http://mobile.yahoo.com/maildemo