3 ms·

How/why is a dist tarball not exactly the same as a zipped up git tree?

• atq2119 7y ago
  The parent you're replying to answers that question. And if your question is meant rhetorically, it doesn't contribute to the discussion either.
  • infogulch 7y ago
    I'm asking genuinely. No, parent answers the question, "What is the difference between the git tree and a dist tarball?" Which is self-evidently (and unhelpfully) "you don't need autotools installed with the dist tarball". My questions are: Why does this difference exist? Why would you not track everything necessary to build a library in git? How is the dist tarball built differently than just zipping the current git tree?
• wongarsu 7y ago
  Same as a npm package is usually js code and doesn't require you to run the typescript compiler, a dist tarball shouldn't require you to run autotools but just contain their output.
• UncleEntity 7y ago
  "make dist" does stuff other than just make a tarball -- like insert a version number into a header &etc.