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Don't gatekeep. Git isn't just for programmers.. it's for people that are learning.. people using it in non programming capacities and tons more. Telling people

by thrax 7y ago

Don't gatekeep. Git isn't just for programmers.. it's for people that are learning.. people using it in non programming capacities and tons more. Telling people to "git gud" is not helpful. Not everyone knows, or indeed cares to know what a Directed Acyclic Graph is, and sites like this help people's anxiety who are just learning, or who have already screwed up and just want a solution.

rich-tea 7y ago
Git is just for programmers. It was made by and for kernel developers, no less. There are better tools for other people. If you don't care what a DAG is, you will never understand what git is or what it's for. No arguments. Git is a tool for building a DAG. If you don't need a DAG you don't need git.
- Chazprime 7y ago
  Nope. You can use Git for versioning all kinds of assets...3D models, fonts, textures, music. I know someone who stored his book on Github and took pull requests from editors.
  - kkarakk 7y ago
    Yes but those are hacks, no one should immediately reach for git as a tool to version EVERYTHING just because you can. If you treat git as a convenient hammer for your screw, don't be surprised when the screw breaks at an inopportune time
    - mehrdadn 7y ago
      Are you imagining every use of git is either (1) a Computer Scientist writing Code, or (2) a hack? You can't imagine anything in the spectrum in between? LaTeX papers by academics in various fields, scientific coders (MATLAB etc.), people writing stuff in Markdown, students who are still learning even CS, etc. are all doing the wrong thing by using git?
      - dagw 7y ago
        First of all I read it as using git in those ways are hacks (in the computer sense), not that the people using git in those ways are hacks (in the bad at your job sense) Secondly I think his point is (and I kind of agree) that while you certainly can use git to version you documents, 3D-models, and InDesign layouts, it's not necessarily the best tool for the job. Sure if you're already well versed in git go ahead and use it and if you're collaborating with people using git you're probably going to have to learn it, but at least realize that using git for not-code is probably not the best tool for the job especially if you're at the same time trying to learn git from zero.
        mehrdadn 7y ago
        > First of all I read it as using git in those ways are hacks (in the computer sense), not that the people using git in those ways are hacks (in the bad at your job sense) Yes that's why I said "every use of git [...] (2) is a hack". > Secondly I think his point is (and I kind of agree) that while you certainly can use git to version you documents, 3D-models, and InDesign layouts, it's not necessarily the best tool for the job. Sure if you're already well versed in git go ahead and use it and if you're collaborating with people using git you're probably going to have to learn it, but at least realize that using git for not-code is probably not the best tool for the job especially if you're at the same time trying to learn git from zero. What do you see as the best tool for the job?
        rcxdude 7y ago
        SVN is often better suited for such files because a) they can grow quite large and the diffs do not compress well so downloading the entire history is quite expensive. SVN supports only downloading part of the tree and history which is useful b) SVN supports file locking which can help prevent conflicts between editing the same file which is important because of the next point: c) These files generally do not have diff and merge tools so branching is generally not useful and so are most of git's advantages over SVN. That said, I am now generally using git for such files because a) I use git for code anyway and b) gitlab (especially which CI is still useful).
- rickycook 7y ago
  so the people who maintain our site content using markdown and hugo, commit/push git, and trigger a CI build and deploy automatically MUST be developers? answer: they are not, but they can handle basic git just fine. we aren’t some special class of super human: git is a tool, and you absolutely don’t need to know what a DAG is to use it
- voltagex_ 7y ago
  I know, I know, don't reply to the trolls, but at least this troll made me remember some things I'd seen. Git for writers: https://medium.com/@sayhellotovanessa/git-for-writers-write-fiction-like-a-good-programmer-ea6f0309a69a https://medium.com/@sayhellotovanessa/git-for-writers-write-... > There are better tools for other people. Such as?
  - rich-tea 7y ago
    Subversion. Or some special purpose versioning system like "track changes".

by thrax 7y ago

rich-tea 7y ago

Git is just for programmers. It was made by and for kernel developers, no less. There are better tools for other people. If you don't care what a DAG is, you will never understand what git is or what it's for. No arguments. Git is a tool for building a DAG. If you don't need a DAG you don't need git.

Chazprime 7y ago
Nope. You can use Git for versioning all kinds of assets...3D models, fonts, textures, music. I know someone who stored his book on Github and took pull requests from editors.
- kkarakk 7y ago
  Yes but those are hacks, no one should immediately reach for git as a tool to version EVERYTHING just because you can. If you treat git as a convenient hammer for your screw, don't be surprised when the screw breaks at an inopportune time
  - mehrdadn 7y ago
    Are you imagining every use of git is either (1) a Computer Scientist writing Code, or (2) a hack? You can't imagine anything in the spectrum in between? LaTeX papers by academics in various fields, scientific coders (MATLAB etc.), people writing stuff in Markdown, students who are still learning even CS, etc. are all doing the wrong thing by using git?
    - dagw 7y ago
      First of all I read it as using git in those ways are hacks (in the computer sense), not that the people using git in those ways are hacks (in the bad at your job sense) Secondly I think his point is (and I kind of agree) that while you certainly can use git to version you documents, 3D-models, and InDesign layouts, it's not necessarily the best tool for the job. Sure if you're already well versed in git go ahead and use it and if you're collaborating with people using git you're probably going to have to learn it, but at least realize that using git for not-code is probably not the best tool for the job especially if you're at the same time trying to learn git from zero.
      - mehrdadn 7y ago
        > First of all I read it as using git in those ways are hacks (in the computer sense), not that the people using git in those ways are hacks (in the bad at your job sense) Yes that's why I said "every use of git [...] (2) is a hack". > Secondly I think his point is (and I kind of agree) that while you certainly can use git to version you documents, 3D-models, and InDesign layouts, it's not necessarily the best tool for the job. Sure if you're already well versed in git go ahead and use it and if you're collaborating with people using git you're probably going to have to learn it, but at least realize that using git for not-code is probably not the best tool for the job especially if you're at the same time trying to learn git from zero. What do you see as the best tool for the job?
        rcxdude 7y ago
        SVN is often better suited for such files because a) they can grow quite large and the diffs do not compress well so downloading the entire history is quite expensive. SVN supports only downloading part of the tree and history which is useful b) SVN supports file locking which can help prevent conflicts between editing the same file which is important because of the next point: c) These files generally do not have diff and merge tools so branching is generally not useful and so are most of git's advantages over SVN. That said, I am now generally using git for such files because a) I use git for code anyway and b) gitlab (especially which CI is still useful).
rickycook 7y ago
so the people who maintain our site content using markdown and hugo, commit/push git, and trigger a CI build and deploy automatically MUST be developers? answer: they are not, but they can handle basic git just fine. we aren’t some special class of super human: git is a tool, and you absolutely don’t need to know what a DAG is to use it
voltagex_ 7y ago
I know, I know, don't reply to the trolls, but at least this troll made me remember some things I'd seen. Git for writers: https://medium.com/@sayhellotovanessa/git-for-writers-write-fiction-like-a-good-programmer-ea6f0309a69a https://medium.com/@sayhellotovanessa/git-for-writers-write-... > There are better tools for other people. Such as?
- rich-tea 7y ago
  Subversion. Or some special purpose versioning system like "track changes".