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Because you have the .gitmodules file, the .git/config file, the index, and .git/modules directory, each of which can get out of sync with the others. If, for

Because you have the .gitmodules file, the .git/config file, the index, and .git/modules directory, each of which can get out of sync with the others. If, for example, you add a submodule with the wrong url, then want to change the url, then you instinctively change .gitmodules. But that won't work, and it won't even nearly work. If you add a submodule, then remove it, but not from all of those places, and try to add the submodule again (say, to a different path), then you also get wierd errors. If you add a submodule and want to move it to another directory then just no. Oh and also one time a colleague ran into problems because he had added the repo to the index directly - with git add .. Oh and let's talk about tracking submodule branches and how you can mess that up by entering the submodule directories and running commands...

AstralStorm 9y ago
Why do you want to bypass the tool at the first glance? Git submodule command has a way to update these urls...
- friend-monoid 9y ago
  Heh, good question. But seriously, the fact that there is a .gitmodules file lulls you into a sense that that file is "the configuration file". If you don't know about these other files, then it's natural to edit .gitmodules. When you make errors, the fixing those errors are pretty hard. There is no "git submodule remove x" or "git submodule set-url" or "git submodule mv". For example, do you know how, on the top of your head, to get an existing submodule to track a branch? How do you think someone who does not quite understand git would do it? Even with a pretty ok understanding of git infernal, you can put yourself deep in the gutter. (case in point, if you enter the submodule directory and push head to a new commit, you can just "git add submodule-directory" to get point the submodule to the new commit. But if you were to change upstream url or branch or something else in the submodule, you're screwed. That's not intuitive by a long shot) Edit: git submodule sync is not enough by the way... You can fuck up your repo like crazy even if you sync the two configuration files.

AstralStorm 9y ago

Why do you want to bypass the tool at the first glance? Git submodule command has a way to update these urls...

friend-monoid 9y ago
Heh, good question. But seriously, the fact that there is a .gitmodules file lulls you into a sense that that file is "the configuration file". If you don't know about these other files, then it's natural to edit .gitmodules. When you make errors, the fixing those errors are pretty hard. There is no "git submodule remove x" or "git submodule set-url" or "git submodule mv". For example, do you know how, on the top of your head, to get an existing submodule to track a branch? How do you think someone who does not quite understand git would do it? Even with a pretty ok understanding of git infernal, you can put yourself deep in the gutter. (case in point, if you enter the submodule directory and push head to a new commit, you can just "git add submodule-directory" to get point the submodule to the new commit. But if you were to change upstream url or branch or something else in the submodule, you're screwed. That's not intuitive by a long shot) Edit: git submodule sync is not enough by the way... You can fuck up your repo like crazy even if you sync the two configuration files.