Re: [oll-user] Fw: Git workflow

[Marc S. <ma...@ou...>]

I'd say the details of whether git stores changes just as diffs or 
whether or stores complete files are irrelevant.  I mean, sure, in a 
large project, it's 10,000 times more efficient to just store diffs, 
considering that a commit in git isn't just of a single file - it's a 
snapshot of the entire repo, most of which probably has not changed.  
But from a user point of view, if we pretended storage was unlimited 
there would be no difference.

The point is, git (or any version control system) isn't just a place to 
store files - it's a way of tracing the entire history of how the files 
got to be in the state they are in, as well as a way for multiple people 
to work on the same set of files without constantly stepping on each 
others' toes.  So if there is more added complexity to the process as 
compared to just copying files into a big disk somewhere, that's a) to 
be expected and b) worth the small price.

Right now, git may seem like a huge inscrutable mystery, but it's 
actually quite simple and extraordinarily powerful - if you take the 
time to learn the basics.  There will still be complexities to be sure, 
especially when it comes to merging together work from multiple 
contributors - that is an inherently hard problem to solve, and it can 
never be 100% transparent.  But it is absolutely worth spending the time 
it takes to read through a tutorial or two to get a feel for the big 
picture, rather than just trying to memorize a seemingly arcane series 
of commands.

Marc