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Ask HN: Why is version control so hard?
So I'm trying to teach one of my friends how to program yesterday
We are working on a project in Unity.
I quickly realized setting up Git, with ignore and LTS is just too much.
I told him for now, just make sure to zip up the project and upload to Dropbox once a week or so.
And Unity themselves tried to add collaborate, to the editor but didn't work right.
Why ?
- superchroma 4y agoIt seems to me they didn't build the engine and file structure with source control in mind and that it was an afterthought. They didn't make the setup with unit tests in mind either for that matter. That said, I do track my unity projects in git. It's heavy but works ok these days. What's too much about it for you?
- verdverm 4y agoYou are trying to teach programming with the wrong tools. Use python or JS and avoid game programming. Game programming is not for the novice. There is no need to push version control on a beginner, this is just extra stuff which adds confusion. Start with functions, to show how to build reusable pieces with good abstractions, then scale up Your best bet will be to help them find a good course and act as the "TA"
- 999900000999 4y ago?? He more wants to just learn Unity. But still, why does Unity VC suck so much. Eventually someone has to code with this thing.
- verdverm 4y agoI have had no problem using git with unity in my hololens dev work, so I don't know what you are having issue with
- smoldesu 4y agoI don't necessarily use Unity, but I do work with git on extremely large codebases. Teaching your friend to write gitignore files and understand VCS principles will pay dividends down the road, particularly if they're planning on doing any serious work. Otherwise, it's like training a pilot to fly without teaching Air Traffic Control. Github provides a Unity gitignore template, maybe it's best to start here? https://github.com/github/gitignore/blob/main/Unity.gitignore https://github.com/github/gitignore/blob/main/Unity.gitignor...
- chiefalchemist 4y agoProbably unpopular to say on HN but ultimately VC benefits from having a visual representation. Have you looked at something like GitKraken? https://www.gitkraken.com/ https://www.gitkraken.com/ Everything you have to imagine / visualize is reflected via a UI.