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Git branches are about as real as the most significant bit in an IEEE 754 double's significand. > modern version control systems are a user interface to their
by cxr 3y ago
Git branches are about as real as the most significant bit in an IEEE 754 double's significand.
> modern version control systems are a user interface to their underlying mathematics
Widespread (mis)understanding of Git is a direct result of programmers who don't understand library and information science refusing to accept that they're in the domain of library and information science but trying to slog through anyway without the prereq; repo operations comprise an algebra of publishing. It gets really perverse in interdisciplinary settings when technical folks start trying to explain Git to people in the humanities who are better equipped to grok its fundamentals than the average programmer.
- Mountain_Skies 3y agoThat's an interesting POV. Are there papers or other research that have been published by professional librarians regarding git and similar repository systems in use by the software development community?
- cxr 3y agoSorry, I'm not steeped in that world (unlike some of the more presumptuous and clearly self-serving comments surrounding yours have evidently assumed), and I don't know of any; my background is a programmer with a formal education in CS. I wouldn't be surprised if the answer were, "There aren't any." cf Feynman: In this age of specialization men who thoroughly know one field are often incompetent to discuss another. The great problems of the relations between one and another aspect of human activity have for this reason been discussed less and less in public.
- RamblingCTO 3y agoThat's very snoby-sounding tbh. Why would the average humanities person be better equipped to understand an algebra about source code management? What a weird take. It's not about managing a library of any kind, it's about a tree of changes. And it's not (only) about publishing either.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- cxr 3y agoIs there a reason why between what I originally wrote and what you wrote here, you changed enough of the words that it no longer matches what I actually said? > It's not about managing a library of any kind, it's about a tree of changes. No, a Git repo is not "a tree of changes" (nor is Git a "hacky diffing tool").
- RamblingCTO 3y agoJust because you frame Git to be a certain way, doesn't mean I agree with it. Define Git for me then please. Obviously we're using very different tools. Git itself, for me, manages diffs (or rather refs of diffs) as a tree. Branches are pointers. That's it. /e: and why on earth is it an algebra about publishing? As I said before, imho it's not about publishing, but about tracking. Publishing is just an aspect.
- cxr 3y ago> Define Git for me I'll pass. > Git [...] manages diffs (or rather refs of diffs) Wrong. > why on earth is it an algebra about publishing? It's not. I said operations on a repo comprise an algebra of publishing. As for why? Because that's what we're talking about: the stupid content tracker. This is not disputable. > As I said before, imho it's [...] about tracking You didn't say that. And you were less than humble about what you did say.
- RamblingCTO 3y agoThank you for showing me that any time spent on talking to you is wasted. You clearly demonstrate that you have no interest in a discussion.
- cxr 3y agoAgain, not true. But discussion with you? About this? Here? Bang on—I can't see any upsides.
- SadCordDrone 3y agoThis self aggrandization by humanities people never gets old. Git is a DAG management system. It's fine if you don't understand what that means. The world runs on science and commerce, get down your humanities high horse.
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- cxr 3y agoOh boy. I'll take "Motivated Reasoning" for 50¢, Ken.
- bluetomcat 3y ago> when technical folks start trying to explain Git to people in the humanities who are better equipped to grok its fundamentals Maybe we need some librarians to explain to us what "updates remote refs using local refs, while sending objects necessary to complete the given refs" means :-)
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- cxr 3y agoYour argument for why librarians (sic) aren't equipped to understand and provide instruction on the theory of content tracking is a well-known example of subpar documentation written by a programmer?
- flir 3y agoCan you expand? I'd like to see an example of the kind of disconnect you're thinking of. Or even better, a library-sciencey model of version control. It's interesting how many mental models of git there are. For me it's a digraph (specifically a DAG, unless you've done something horribly creative). For other people it's a patch-management tool. Or a versioned database. It seems like almost nobody thinks it's a source code repo.
- 4ad 3y agoI would like to hear more.