Re: State of VC?

[Dan Nicolaescu <dann@ics.uci.edu>]

Thien-Thi Nguyen <ttn@gnuvola.org> writes:

  > () Dan Nicolaescu <dann@ics.uci.edu>
  > () Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:56:24 -0800
  > 
  >    AFAIK no.
  > 
  > I have just added vc-dir-status for Git.  Sigh, moments after
  > the C-c C-c, i see new func vc-git--ls-files-state, which
  > probably could have been useful.  However, before doing any
  > more munging, it would be nice for us to figure out what is
  > vc-dir-status philosophy and design, and write that down in a
  > vc.el comment so that backend support can derive guidance and
  > check for conformance.  Labeling everything EXPERIMENTAL is
  > lame; one such warning in vc.el should suffice.

Sorry, but this sounds too much like a rant for missing the obvious:
the implementation for `vc-git-dir-status' should be modeled after
the thing it tries to replace: `vc-git-dir-state'.

vc-status code was added as a PROOF OF CONCEPT that it's easy to replace
vc-dired with something that is simpler, it has more features
(asynchronous), it can be easily extended and it does not take 10 years
to find fundamental bugs.  
As long as it stayed in experimental state (and that was until
yesterday) it made more sense to spend time writing proof of concept
code, and there was little point to spend time writing ISO9000 type
documents describing it.
On top of that, everything was discussed at length on the list.

  > Personally, i don't think vc-directory for Git is that bad
  > (w/ some tweaking)[0].  
You mean "vc-git-hacking"? That link does not work.
It would be more productive to add that code to vc-git, or post it here.

  >  I *like* the "v" prefix, non-flat (visible) directory hierarchy,
  > and support for RCS and CVS.

Feel free to add them. 

  > I get the feeling that vc-dir-status is simply ewoc wanking.

This bad attitude and adding this type of rants to vc-git.el:

;;; vc-dir-status support (EXPERIMENTAL)
;;; If vc-directory (which is not half bad under Git, w/ some tweaking)
;;; is to go away, vc-dir-status must at least support the same
;;; operations.  At the moment, vc-dir-status design is still fluid (a
;;; kind way to say half-baked, undocumented, and spottily-supported),
;;; so the following should be considered likewise ripe for sudden
;;; unannounced change.  YHBW, HAND.  --ttn

are totally counter-productive and seem to be designed just to aggravate
people instead of focusing on improving ANYTHING.