Re: [PATCH/RFC v2] git-submodule: multi-level module definition

[Johannes Schindelin <Johannes.Schindelin@gmx.de>]

Hi,

On Thu, 6 Mar 2008, Ping Yin wrote:

> On Thu, Mar 6, 2008 at 7:18 AM, Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> wrote:
> > Ping Yin <pkufranky@gmail.com> writes:
> >
> >  > This patch allows multi-level module definition in .gitmodules as
> >  > Linus and Sven Verdoolaege etc. have suggested in mails
> >  > "Let .git/config specify the url for submodules"
> >  > (http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.version-control.git/48939).
> >  >
> >  > Following shows an example of such a .gitmodules.
> >  >
> >  > .gitmodules with with multiple level of indirection
> >  > ------------------------------------------------------
> >  > [submodule "service"]
> >  >    submodule = crawler
> >  >    submodule = search
> >  > ...
> >
> > > [submodule "util"]
> >  >    url = git://xyzzy/util.git
> >  > [submodule "imsearch"]
> >  >    path = search/imsearch
> >  >    url = git://xyzzy/imsearch.git
> >  > [submodule "imcrawler"]
> >  >    path = crawler/imcrawter
> >  >    url = git://xyzzy/imcrawter.git
> >  > ------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >  I would agree that allowing the user to use a short-hand to name a group
> >  of modules the user is interested in would be a good idea, but I think
> >  .gitmodules is a wrong place to do so.  The grouping is a user preference,
> >  isn't it?
> >
> >  The place the owner of the repository (not the project) expresses which
> >  modules are of interest, what transports she wants to use to access it,
> >  etc. is $GIT_DIR/config, and .gitmodules is a vehicle to supply hints to
> >  be used when the user populates that information.
> >
> Not always the case.

If it is _not_ always the case, .gitmodules is definitely the wrong place, 
and $GIT_DIR/config is.

Just like we need "init && update", and not have "init" update implicitly, 
like some people wish (who forget that other people might have other 
wishes), we need to allow for different options here.

And as .gitmodules is _meant_ to be tracked, it is not the place to 
express individual wishes differing from the colleagues' wishes.

Ciao,
Dscho