10 ms·

I saw this a few months ago. local> ssh user@example.com user@example> git init --bare $DIR user@example> exit local> git clone user@example.com:$DIR

I saw this a few months ago. local> ssh user@example.com user@example> git init --bare $DIR user@example> exit local> git clone user@example.com:$DIR I've seen VPS services for as low as $4 a month. I'm with you in camp baffled.

tick_tock_tick 4y ago
And dropbox is just rsync with a bit of cute UI basically worthless. These comments are peak examples of how disconnected some hackernews users are from real life.
- Dylan16807 4y ago
  That's not a fair comparison. The argument is more like a version of dropbox that's only used by programmers and owned by a company programmers should hate. And the rsync is capable of doing full multi-directional sync. In that scenario the hypothetical dropbox loses a ton of value.
- jrm4 4y ago
  Nah. I'll still charge that it's laziness if this is your job. I get that this kind of practice is common, but I still find it lazy. I compare it to using gmail as your professional email. It's a bad idea; even if it never bites you, because the cost is so little and the harm is so great if it ever screws up. Except I can see why average joe user might not think about it, and I don't think developers have that excuse. You should know and understand that tech is risky enough. Same reason there was no excuse for the kik zero padding debacle. The fact that a LOT of people did a lazy dumb thing doesn't make it not dumb or lazy.
ollien 4y ago
Heh - a former employer of mine used something similar to this to sync code between laptops and development VMs :) We had a script that made a temporary commit, and pushed to a git repository in the way you describe, then reverted that commit.
shepherdjerred 4y ago
What about backups? Managing access to the repository? Making the repository easy to discover? Can you browse the code in a browser, or read the README without cloning? Of course you could do all of these things with enough work. But why would the average developer want to? Do you really think most developers care so much about Microsoft owning GitHub?
- jrm4 4y ago
  Honestly -- if this is too much for the average developer then we have WAY too many underskilled, and perhaps useless, developers.
  - shepherdjerred 4y ago
    I would consider myself pretty knowledgeable and I love going on tangents when setting up projects. I love tinkering and learning. There is no situation in which I'd want to do all of the above work for every single repository I setup. I have hundreds of repositories that I own on GitHub for things like school assignments and personal projects. If I start a weekend project as you describe then the first 4 hours are going to be setting my repository up. Nobody wants to do this. Just because something is difficult or time consuming doesn't mean that it is good or useful. Doing this once would be a fun learning experience. Doing it more than once is a useless chore.
    - Dylan16807 4y ago
      > There is no situation in which I'd want to do all of the above work for every single repository I setup. What the heck are you talking about? The only work you'd have to do "for every single repository" is the single git command. Getting a server, managing access and discoverability, setting it up for browser access, setting up backups, those are things you would do once. If that's a waste of four hours, valid argument, but it's not a waste of four hundred hours. You're grossly exaggerating the cost. Oh and you didn't mention keeping the server updated but that's probably ten minutes of effort once a month. > Doing this once would be a fun learning experience. Doing it more than once is a useless chore. Then there's no problem.

tick_tock_tick 4y ago

And dropbox is just rsync with a bit of cute UI basically worthless. These comments are peak examples of how disconnected some hackernews users are from real life.

Dylan16807 4y ago
That's not a fair comparison. The argument is more like a version of dropbox that's only used by programmers and owned by a company programmers should hate. And the rsync is capable of doing full multi-directional sync. In that scenario the hypothetical dropbox loses a ton of value.
jrm4 4y ago
Nah. I'll still charge that it's laziness if this is your job. I get that this kind of practice is common, but I still find it lazy. I compare it to using gmail as your professional email. It's a bad idea; even if it never bites you, because the cost is so little and the harm is so great if it ever screws up. Except I can see why average joe user might not think about it, and I don't think developers have that excuse. You should know and understand that tech is risky enough. Same reason there was no excuse for the kik zero padding debacle. The fact that a LOT of people did a lazy dumb thing doesn't make it not dumb or lazy.

ollien 4y ago

Heh - a former employer of mine used something similar to this to sync code between laptops and development VMs :) We had a script that made a temporary commit, and pushed to a git repository in the way you describe, then reverted that commit.

shepherdjerred 4y ago

What about backups? Managing access to the repository? Making the repository easy to discover? Can you browse the code in a browser, or read the README without cloning? Of course you could do all of these things with enough work. But why would the average developer want to? Do you really think most developers care so much about Microsoft owning GitHub?

jrm4 4y ago
Honestly -- if this is too much for the average developer then we have WAY too many underskilled, and perhaps useless, developers.
- shepherdjerred 4y ago
  I would consider myself pretty knowledgeable and I love going on tangents when setting up projects. I love tinkering and learning. There is no situation in which I'd want to do all of the above work for every single repository I setup. I have hundreds of repositories that I own on GitHub for things like school assignments and personal projects. If I start a weekend project as you describe then the first 4 hours are going to be setting my repository up. Nobody wants to do this. Just because something is difficult or time consuming doesn't mean that it is good or useful. Doing this once would be a fun learning experience. Doing it more than once is a useless chore.
  - Dylan16807 4y ago
    > There is no situation in which I'd want to do all of the above work for every single repository I setup. What the heck are you talking about? The only work you'd have to do "for every single repository" is the single git command. Getting a server, managing access and discoverability, setting it up for browser access, setting up backups, those are things you would do once. If that's a waste of four hours, valid argument, but it's not a waste of four hundred hours. You're grossly exaggerating the cost. Oh and you didn't mention keeping the server updated but that's probably ten minutes of effort once a month. > Doing this once would be a fun learning experience. Doing it more than once is a useless chore. Then there's no problem.