Better interoperability with Bitkeeper for fast-import/-export

[Philip Prindeville <philipp_subx@redfish-solutions.com>]

Hi.

I tried to import into git a repo that I was working on (because it just seemed easier), but when I tried to export the repo back out after making my changes I found it choking on a few things.

It was explained to me (by the Bitkeeper folks) that git meta-data doesn’t accurately track file moves…  If a file disappears from one place and reappears in another with the same contents, that’s assumed to be a move.

Given that “git mv” is an explicit action, I’m not sure why that wouldn’t be explicitly tracked.

But I’ve not looked too closely under the covers about how git represents stuff, so maybe there’s more to it than I’m assuming.

During an export using “-M” and “-C”, Bitkeeper complained:

fast-import: line 'R ports/winnt/libntp/nt_clockstuff.c ports/winnt/ntpd/nt_clockstuff.c' not supported

so I tried removing those two options, and it got further, this time stalling on:

fast-import: Unknown command: tag ntp-stable

I like git, mostly because I’ve used it a lot more… and I like the GitHub service.  I use Bitkeeper because a few projects I work on are already set up to use it and it’s not my call whether it’s worth the effort to make the conversion or live with it.

So… this is an appeal for both to play better together.

What’s involved in getting git to track file/directory moves/renames so that it’s palatable to Bitkeeper?

Thanks,

-Philip