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Show HN: Gitfs – mount Git repos as local folders

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Re: Show HN: Gitfs – mount Git repos as local folders

#11

Post by knowtheory »

zalmanu wrote: post #7
tughirin wrote: post #6

Why would somebody use such a file system? To make life easier when working with configuration files? I wish they also described their motive for creating it.

A developer or sys admin would use it to keep track of changes a site owner would do via ftp/sftp. We made it for this specific reason. Track everything! :)

So is this intended as a single user sort of tool? I'm curious how merges, conflicts & branching would interact w/ a tool like this, or whether it's just intended as a way to implement a versioned file system essentially where files can be rolled back to previous states.

Re: Show HN: Gitfs – mount Git repos as local folders

#12

Post by vtemian »

thebouv wrote: post #8
zalmanu wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi. I'm one of the authors of GitFS! It is supposed to work as a fully-fledged filesystem. Do you have in mind a particular use case?

No, I think the question is, what do you as an author of the software have in mind as a particular use case? Some examples of why someone would use this would be great.

We are using it to expose website code through SFTP to non-developers. Another possible use case can be publishing static sites using jekyll or another tool.

Re: Show HN: Gitfs – mount Git repos as local folders

#13

Post by vtemian »

knowtheory wrote: post #11
zalmanu wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A developer or sys admin would use it to keep track of changes a site owner would do via ftp/sftp. We made it for this specific reason. Track everything! :)

So is this intended as a single user sort of tool? I'm curious how merges, conflicts & branching would interact w/ a tool like this, or whether it's just intended as a way to implement a versioned file system essentially where files can be rolled back to previous states.

Currently it follows a single branch. The merge strategy is to merge with local changes taking priority over remote ones but this can be plugged-in. Rollbacks can be done by copying from history to current version. The only thing shaky thing is when there is a force push because local commits will be pushed back.

Re: Show HN: Gitfs – mount Git repos as local folders

#15

Post by vtemian »

baldfat wrote: post #14

Besides its use for the work flow for a single person developing an app I fail to see the case for this system.

It is intended for non-developers so that they can integrate their workflow with developers working on the same content. It can be used by multiple persons of course but it's not generally targeted for people developing apps or for replacing git.

Re: Show HN: Gitfs – mount Git repos as local folders

#16

Post by listic »

vtemian wrote: post #15
baldfat wrote: post #14

Besides its use for the work flow for a single person developing an app I fail to see the case for this system.

It is intended for non-developers so that they can integrate their workflow with developers working on the same content. It can be used by multiple persons of course but it's not generally targeted for people developing apps or for replacing git.

Same content (set of files) but different files?

Here's the use case I have in mind: let's say I'm a programmer extending a game [1] built on Undum [2] engine, together with a writer who is writing a story at the same time [3]

[1] The Play, A dress rehearsal gone horribly wrong, by Deirdra Kiai. http://squinky.me/theplay/

[2] http://undum.com/

[3] Story file: view-source:http://squinky.me/theplay/theplay.js

Re: Show HN: Gitfs – mount Git repos as local folders

#17

Post by hardwaresofton »

I think this kind of file system would do well to power platforms that AREN'T for programmers. While this may not seem useful for programmers (because they are so involved in git usage in the first place), I think others might benefit

I've had the idea to make an interative design/architecture plugin for programs like photoshop/3dmax/etc rolling around in my head for a while now. Git is a perfect way to store/save the progress people make in those programs (as files change over time, or as they save), and gitfs seems like it would be the fs to run on the backing server.

Instant branching (like when an artist decides to riff on a new idea), undo/rollback, progress tweens/reports.

Re: Show HN: Gitfs – mount Git repos as local folders

#18

Post by vtemian »

listic wrote: post #16
vtemian wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is intended for non-developers so that they can integrate their workflow with developers working on the same content. It can be used by multiple persons of course but it's not generally targeted for people developing apps or for replacing git.

Same content (set of files) but different files? Here's the use case I have in mind: let's say I'm a programmer extending a game [1] built on Undum [2] engine, together with a writer who is writing a story at the same time [3] [1] The Play, A dress rehearsal gone horribly wrong, by Deirdra Kiai. http://squinky.me/theplay/ [2] http://undum.com/ [3] Story file: view-source: http://squinky.me/theplay/theplay.js

If you work on the same file the content will get versioned like it would when you use command line git. Also you will get some sort of accountability for changes.

Re: Show HN: Gitfs – mount Git repos as local folders

#19

Post by btown »

Does it batch changes, i.e. if 5 files are saved within a few seconds of each other?

It would also be interesting if that was combined with naming commits based on language processing (i.e. splitting on camel case and snake case, finding the word whose frequency in the current diff is most different from its frequency in the codebase overall). Then you could have human-readable history without any conscious need to maintain it - and this would be developer-friendly, just Save All in Sublime Text and fuhgettaboudit.

Re: Show HN: Gitfs – mount Git repos as local folders

#20

Post by listic »

vtemian wrote: post #18
listic wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same content (set of files) but different files? Here's the use case I have in mind: let's say I'm a programmer extending a game [1] built on Undum [2] engine, together with a writer who is writing a story at the same time [3] [1] The Play, A dress rehearsal gone horribly wrong, by Deirdra Kiai. http://squinky.me/theplay/ [2] http://undum.com/ [3] Story file: view-source: http://squinky.me/theplay/theplay.js

If you work on the same file the content will get versioned like it would when you use command line git. Also you will get some sort of accountability for changes.

And the intent is that developers can access the same data via git. Right?
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