Switching to git?

[Pavel Roskin]

Hello!

This is a reaction to the "BTS overhaul" post, I just don't want to
hijack the thread with a separate topic.

If someone asked me what is the project that is not using git but would
benefit from it most, I would say it's GRUB.

First and foremost, git (together with StGIT and other tools) relieves
the pressure to commit.  CVS and Subversion allow to work with only one
patch at a time.  I can have only one patch applied to the working
directory if I want to commit one of the patches safely.  There is no
support for refining series of patches.  StGIT exists precisely for
that, and even bare git is getting better at that.

Another closely related advantage is that git allows parallel
development.  Branching is built in from the beginning.  There are
unofficial forks of GRUB 1 already (such as grub4dos).  git would help
turn forks into branches, bring them under one roof and eventually allow
merging all useful features together.

Not to be overlooked it the git-bisect command.  No amount of code
review can prevent bugs, especially for software that interacts with
"black box" firmware and hardware.  Having an effective mechanism for
bug isolation is essential.

Tools for viewing history of the git repository, such as qgit, gitk and
tig have no equivalents for CVS.  And the tools for mailing series of
patches are great time savers.  git is actively developed and has a
vibrant community.  Yet it's well past the point where major
incompatibilities are routinely introduced.

Other GNU projects have switched to git.  Savannah supports git.  The
list of the GNU projects using git is pretty impressive:
http://git.sv.gnu.org/gitweb/

I think GNU GRUB would be a welcome addition.

-- 
Regards,
Pavel Roskin