Re: git commit/push and VC

[Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>]

> From: Thien-Thi Nguyen <ttn@gnu.org>
> Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 09:49:07 +0100
> 
>    Switching the branch is easy, but after that, you'd almost
>    always need a full bootstrap, which might become annoying.
> 
> The pain point seems to be bootstrap, so might as well
> address it directly in the instructions: "If hacking TOPIC
> will require bootstrap, then probably you want a separate
> working tree on branch TOPIC.

The main point here is not hacking TOPIC, it's working in parallel in
master and in release branch.  Those diverge very fast in Emacs, so
switching almost always will require a full bootstrap.  Most, if not
all, of the other use cases can use a single clone.

>    We are talking about simplified instructions here, mind
>    you.  Don't take that as a general advice for advanced
>    users: they don't need these instructions.
> 
> I think it's okay to have a small conditional branch (argh,
> another overloaded use of that word!) in these instructions.
> Being explicit about intent puts the onus of choice on the
> reader, which is where it belongs when it comes to managing
> pain.

If you mean that the instructions should explain the considerations
for and against using "commit -a", then I don't think that's the place
for that.  The text might say "we recommend using 'commit -a' because
it avoids the need to use 'git add', except when you add new files",
but that's about all.  The Wiki is not the place for describing these
choices in too much detail, or we will lose the reader's attention.
That page is already too long, IMO; I moved some of the stuff to the
end of it so it doesn't interfere with the workflow description.