Re: Fetch on submodule update

[Jonathan Nieder <jrnieder@gmail.com>]

Hi,

Robert Dailey wrote:

> Problem: I want to avoid recursively fetching submodules when I run a
> `fetch` command, and instead defer that operation to the next
> `submodule update`. Essentially I want `fetch.recurseSubmodules` to be
> `false`, and `get submodule update` to do exactly what it does with
> the `--remote` option, but still use the SHA1 of the submodule instead
> of updating to the tip of the specified branch in the git modules
> config.
>
> I hope that makes sense. The reason for this ask is to
> improve/streamline workflow in parent repositories. There are cases
> where I want to quickly fetch only the parent repository, even if a
> submodule changes, to perform some changes that do not require the
> submodule itself (yet). Then at a later time, do `submodule update`
> and have it automatically fetch when the SHA1 it's updating to does
> not exist (because the former fetch operation for the submodule was
> skipped). For my case, it's very slow to wait on submodules to
> recursively fetch when I only wanted to fetch the parent repo for the
> specific task I plan to do.
>
> Is this possible right now through some variation of configuration?

Can you say more about the overall workflow?  This seems quite different
from what we've been designing --recurse-submodules around:

- avoiding the end user ever having to use the "git submodule" command,
  except to add, remove, or reconfigure submodules

- treating the whole codebase as something like one project, so that
  "git checkout --recurse-submodules <commit>" always checks out the
  same state

More details about the application would help with better
understanding whether it can fit into this framework, or whether it's
a case where you'd want to set "submodule.recurse" to false to have
more manual control.

Thanks and hope that helps,
Jonathan