Re: Git mirrors

[Jambunathan K]

The argument that getting up to speed on bzr will prevent one from
contributing to Emacs is quite baseless. The argument that a git access
will attract more contributors is also quite baseless.

What is absolutely critical for contribution is easy access to the
latest files. The specific version control system in use shouldn't
bother a user as the long as the intention of the user to contribute is
set in stone. 

To a casual or a one-off contributor *any* VCS - be it bzr, git or plain
old cvs - is a nuisance. To other contributors, the choice of VCS
shouldn't be a concern at all [1]. If it happens so that someone is
reluctant to digest a particular VCS, it only shows that the person
hasn't seen enough heterogenity in his projects or work setup.

I have contributed a few patches - a few liners basically - to
Emacs. Not knowing bzr didn't deter me. And it was not the availability
of the git mirrors for Emacs that I relied upon to turn in my first
patch.

I didn't want to install or learn bzr. I didn't want to download the
whole of Emacs repo either. I looked at loggerhead, downloaded the
latest version of the file through firefox, made the necessary changes
and turned in the patch. I used the same approach while git was unknown
to me and I wanted to turn in some patches for Orgmode.

Footnotes: 

[1] Over the course of the years, at various jobs/projects, I have used
Continuus, cvs, svn, clearcase, perforce, mercurial, git. I am sure that
this list will grow over the next few years.

In all the above setups (save for Continuus case) I have relied on Emacs
generic vc facilities to help me with the intial ramp.

To get up to speed on any *vcs* it's just enough if one knows how to
checkout, checkin and possibly revert. It should be a 10 minute job for
any user familiar with the basic VC paradigm.

One can hack even without using any VCS.
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