/usr/share/doc/gitmagic/html/ch06.html is in gitmagic 20160304-1.
This file is owned by root:root, with mode 0o644.
The actual contents of the file can be viewed below.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta name="generator" content=
"HTML Tidy for Linux (vers 25 March 2009), see www.w3.org">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content=
"text/html; charset=utf-8">
<title>Git Magic - Chapter 6. Multiplayer Git</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="default.css">
<meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.79.1">
<link rel="home" href="index.html" title="Git Magic">
<link rel="up" href="index.html" title="Git Magic">
<link rel="prev" href="ch05.html" title=
"Chapter 5. Lessons of History">
<link rel="next" href="ch07.html" title=
"Chapter 7. Git Grandmastery">
</head>
<body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084"
alink="#0000FF">
<div class="toc">
<ul class="toc">
<li><b>Git Magic</b></li>
<li>
<span class="preface"><a href=
"index.html">Preface</a></span>
<ul>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"index.html#thanks">Thanks!</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"index.html#license">License</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<span class="chapter"><a href="ch01.html">1.
Introduction</a></span>
<ul>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch01.html#work_is_play">Work is Play</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch01.html#version_control">Version
Control</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch01.html#distributed_control">Distributed
Control</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch01.html#a_silly_superstition">A Silly
Superstition</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch01.html#merge_conflicts">Merge
Conflicts</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<span class="chapter"><a href="ch02.html">2. Basic
Tricks</a></span>
<ul>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch02.html#saving_state">Saving State</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch02.html#add_delete_rename">Add, Delete,
Rename</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch02.html#advanced_undo_redo">Advanced
Undo/Redo</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch02.html#reverting">Reverting</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch02.html#changelog_generation">Changelog
Generation</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch02.html#downloading_files">Downloading
Files</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch02.html#the_bleeding_edge">The Bleeding
Edge</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch02.html#instant_publishing">Instant
Publishing</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch02.html#what_have_i_done">What Have I
Done?</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch02.html#exercise">Exercise</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<span class="chapter"><a href="ch03.html">3. Cloning
Around</a></span>
<ul>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch03.html#sync_computers">Sync
Computers</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch03.html#classic_source_control">Classic Source
Control</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch03.html#secret_source">Secret Source</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch03.html#bare_repositories">Bare
repositories</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch03.html#push_versus_pull">Push versus
pull</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch03.html#forking_a_project">Forking a
Project</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch03.html#ultimate_backups">Ultimate
Backups</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch03.html#light_speed_multitask">Light-Speed
Multitask</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch03.html#guerilla_version_control">Guerilla Version
Control</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch03.html#mercurial">Mercurial</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch03.html#bazaar">Bazaar</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch03.html#why_i_use_git">Why I use Git</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<span class="chapter"><a href="ch04.html">4. Branch
Wizardry</a></span>
<ul>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch04.html#the_boss_key">The Boss Key</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch04.html#dirty_work">Dirty Work</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch04.html#quick_fixes">Quick Fixes</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch04.html#merging">Merging</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch04.html#uninterrupted_workflow">Uninterrupted
Workflow</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch04.html#reorganizing_a_medley">Reorganizing a
Medley</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch04.html#managing_branches">Managing
Branches</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch04.html#temporary_branches">Temporary
Branches</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch04.html#work_how_you_want">Work How You
Want</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<span class="chapter"><a href="ch05.html">5. Lessons of
History</a></span>
<ul>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch05.html#i_stand_corrected">I Stand
Corrected</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch05.html#and_then_some">… And Then
Some</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch05.html#local_changes_last">Local Changes
Last</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch05.html#rewriting_history">Rewriting
History</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch05.html#making_history">Making
History</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch05.html#where_did_it_all_go_wrong">Where Did It All
Go Wrong?</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch05.html#who_made_it_all_go_wrong">Who Made It All Go
Wrong?</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch05.html#personal_experience">Personal
Experience</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<span class="chapter"><a href="ch06.html">6. Multiplayer
Git</a></span>
<ul>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch06.html#who_am_i">Who Am I?</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch06.html#git_over_ssh_http">Git Over SSH,
HTTP</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch06.html#git_over_anything">Git Over
Anything</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch06.html#patches_the_global_currency">Patches: The
Global Currency</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch06.html#sorry_we_8217_ve_moved">Sorry, We’ve
Moved</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch06.html#remote_branches">Remote
Branches</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch06.html#multiple_remotes">Multiple
Remotes</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch06.html#my_preferences">My
Preferences</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<span class="chapter"><a href="ch07.html">7. Git
Grandmastery</a></span>
<ul>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch07.html#source_releases">Source
Releases</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch07.html#commit_what_changed">Commit What
Changed</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch07.html#my_commit_is_too_big">My Commit Is Too
Big!</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch07.html#the_index_git_8217_s_staging_area">The
Index: Git’s Staging Area</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch07.html#don_8217_t_lose_your_head">Don’t Lose Your
HEAD</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch07.html#head_hunting">HEAD-hunting</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch07.html#building_on_git">Building On
Git</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch07.html#daring_stunts">Daring Stunts</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch07.html#preventing_bad_commits">Preventing Bad
Commits</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<span class="chapter"><a href="ch08.html">8. Secrets
Revealed</a></span>
<ul>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch08.html#invisibility">Invisibility</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch08.html#integrity">Integrity</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch08.html#intelligence">Intelligence</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch08.html#indexing">Indexing</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch08.html#git_8217_s_origins">Git’s
Origins</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch08.html#the_object_database">The Object
Database</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch08.html#blobs">Blobs</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch08.html#trees">Trees</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch08.html#commits">Commits</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"ch08.html#indistinguishable_from_magic">Indistinguishable
From Magic</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<span class="appendix"><a href="apa.html">A. Git
Shortcomings</a></span>
<ul>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"apa.html#sha1_weaknesses">SHA1
Weaknesses</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"apa.html#microsoft_windows">Microsoft
Windows</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"apa.html#unrelated_files">Unrelated
Files</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"apa.html#who_8217_s_editing_what">Who’s Editing
What?</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"apa.html#file_history">File History</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"apa.html#initial_clone">Initial Clone</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"apa.html#volatile_projects">Volatile
Projects</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"apa.html#global_counter">Global
Counter</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"apa.html#empty_subdirectories">Empty
Subdirectories</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"apa.html#initial_commit">Initial
Commit</a></span></li>
<li><span class="section"><a href=
"apa.html#interface_quirks">Interface
Quirks</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span class="appendix"><a href="apb.html">B.
Translating This Guide</a></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="content">
<div class="chapter">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h1 class="title"><a id="multiplayer_git" name=
"multiplayer_git"></a>Chapter 6. Multiplayer
Git</h1>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Initially I used Git on a private project where I was the
sole developer. Amongst the commands related to Git’s
distributed nature, I needed only <span class=
"strong"><strong>pull</strong></span> and <span class=
"strong"><strong>clone</strong></span> so could I keep the same
project in different places.</p>
<p>Later I wanted to publish my code with Git, and include
changes from contributors. I had to learn how to manage
projects with multiple developers from all over the world.
Fortunately, this is Git’s forte, and arguably its raison
d'être.</p>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h2 class="title"><a id="who_am_i" name=
"who_am_i"></a>Who Am I?</h2>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Every commit has an author name and email, which is shown
by <span class="strong"><strong>git log</strong></span>. By
default, Git uses system settings to populate these fields.
To set them explicitly, type:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git config --global user.name "John Doe"
$ git config --global user.email johndoe@example.com
</pre>
<p>Omit the global flag to set these options only for the
current repository.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h2 class="title"><a id="git_over_ssh_http" name=
"git_over_ssh_http"></a>Git Over SSH, HTTP</h2>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Suppose you have SSH access to a web server, but Git is
not installed. Though less efficient than its native
protocol, Git can communicate over HTTP.</p>
<p>Download, compile and install Git in your account, and
create a repository in your web directory:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ GIT_DIR=proj.git git init
$ cd proj.git
$ git --bare update-server-info
$ cp hooks/post-update.sample hooks/post-update
</pre>
<p>For older versions of Git, the copy command fails and you
should run:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ chmod a+x hooks/post-update
</pre>
<p>Now you can publish your latest edits via SSH from any
clone:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git push web.server:/path/to/proj.git master
</pre>
<p>and anybody can get your project with:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git clone http://web.server/proj.git
</pre>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h2 class="title"><a id="git_over_anything" name=
"git_over_anything"></a>Git Over Anything</h2>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Want to synchronize repositories without servers, or even
a network connection? Need to improvise during an emergency?
We’ve seen <a class="link" href=
"ch05.html#makinghistory"><span class="strong"><strong>git
fast-export</strong></span> and <span class=
"strong"><strong>git fast-import</strong></span> can convert
repositories to a single file and back</a>. We could shuttle
such files back and forth to transport git repositories over
any medium, but a more efficient tool is <span class=
"strong"><strong>git bundle</strong></span>.</p>
<p>The sender creates a <span class=
"emphasis"><em>bundle</em></span>:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git bundle create somefile HEAD
</pre>
<p>then transports the bundle, <code class=
"literal">somefile</code>, to the other party somehow: email,
thumb drive, an <span class=
"strong"><strong>xxd</strong></span> printout and an OCR
scanner, reading bits over the phone, smoke signals, etc. The
receiver retrieves commits from the bundle by typing:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git pull somefile
</pre>
<p>The receiver can even do this from an empty repository.
Despite its size, <code class="literal">somefile</code>
contains the entire original git repository.</p>
<p>In larger projects, eliminate waste by bundling only
changes the other repository lacks. For example, suppose the
commit “1b6d…” is the most recent commit shared by both
parties:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git bundle create somefile HEAD ^1b6d
</pre>
<p>If done frequently, one could easily forget which commit
was last sent. The help page suggests using tags to solve
this. Namely, after you send a bundle, type:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git tag -f lastbundle HEAD
</pre>
<p>and create new refresher bundles with:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git bundle create newbundle HEAD ^lastbundle
</pre>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h2 class="title"><a id="patches_the_global_currency"
name="patches_the_global_currency"></a>Patches: The
Global Currency</h2>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Patches are text representations of your changes that can
be easily understood by computers and humans alike. This
gives them universal appeal. You can email a patch to
developers no matter what version control system they’re
using. As long as your audience can read their email, they
can see your edits. Similarly, on your side, all you require
is an email account: there’s no need to setup an online Git
repository.</p>
<p>Recall from the first chapter:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git diff 1b6d > my.patch
</pre>
<p>outputs a patch which can be pasted into an email for
discussion. In a Git repository, type:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git apply < my.patch
</pre>
<p>to apply the patch.</p>
<p>In more formal settings, when author names and perhaps
signatures should be recorded, generate the corresponding
patches past a certain point by typing:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git format-patch 1b6d
</pre>
<p>The resulting files can be given to <span class=
"strong"><strong>git-send-email</strong></span>, or sent by
hand. You can also specify a range of commits:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git format-patch 1b6d..HEAD^^
</pre>
<p>On the receiving end, save an email to a file, then
type:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git am < email.txt
</pre>
<p>This applies the incoming patch and also creates a commit,
including information such as the author.</p>
<p>With a browser email client, you may need to click a
button to see the email in its raw original form before
saving the patch to a file.</p>
<p>There are slight differences for mbox-based email clients,
but if you use one of these, you’re probably the sort of
person who can figure them out easily without reading
tutorials!</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h2 class="title"><a id="sorry_we_8217_ve_moved" name=
"sorry_we_8217_ve_moved"></a>Sorry, We’ve Moved</h2>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>After cloning a repository, running <span class=
"strong"><strong>git push</strong></span> or <span class=
"strong"><strong>git pull</strong></span> will automatically
push to or pull from the original URL. How does Git do this?
The secret lies in config options created with the clone.
Let’s take a peek:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git config --list
</pre>
<p>The <code class="literal">remote.origin.url</code> option
controls the source URL; “origin” is a nickname given to the
source repository. As with the “master” branch convention, we
may change or delete this nickname but there is usually no
reason for doing so.</p>
<p>If the original repository moves, we can update the URL
via:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git config remote.origin.url git://new.url/proj.git
</pre>
<p>The <code class="literal">branch.master.merge</code>
option specifies the default remote branch in a <span class=
"strong"><strong>git pull</strong></span>. During the initial
clone, it is set to the current branch of the source
repository, so even if the HEAD of the source repository
subsequently moves to a different branch, a later pull will
faithfully follow the original branch.</p>
<p>This option only applies to the repository we first cloned
from, which is recorded in the option <code class=
"literal">branch.master.remote</code>. If we pull in from
other repositories we must explicitly state which branch we
want:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git pull git://example.com/other.git master
</pre>
<p>The above explains why some of our earlier push and pull
examples had no arguments.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h2 class="title"><a id="remote_branches" name=
"remote_branches"></a>Remote Branches</h2>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>When you clone a repository, you also clone all its
branches. You may not have noticed this because Git hides
them away: you must ask for them specifically. This prevents
branches in the remote repository from interfering with your
branches, and also makes Git easier for beginners.</p>
<p>List the remote branches with:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git branch -r
</pre>
<p>You should see something like:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
origin/HEAD
origin/master
origin/experimental
</pre>
<p>These represent branches and the HEAD of the remote
repository, and can be used in regular Git commands. For
example, suppose you have made many commits, and wish to
compare against the last fetched version. You could search
through the logs for the appropriate SHA1 hash, but it’s much
easier to type:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git diff origin/HEAD
</pre>
<p>Or you can see what the “experimental” branch has been up
to:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git log origin/experimental
</pre>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h2 class="title"><a id="multiple_remotes" name=
"multiple_remotes"></a>Multiple Remotes</h2>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Suppose two other developers are working on our project,
and we want to keep tabs on both. We can follow more than one
repository at a time with:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git remote add other git://example.com/some_repo.git
$ git pull other some_branch
</pre>
<p>Now we have merged in a branch from the second repository,
and we have easy access to all branches of all
repositories:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git diff origin/experimental^ other/some_branch~5
</pre>
<p>But what if we just want to compare their changes without
affecting our own work? In other words, we want to examine
their branches without having their changes invade our
working directory. Then rather than pull, run:</p>
<pre class="literallayout">
$ git fetch # Fetch from origin, the default.
$ git fetch other # Fetch from the second programmer.
</pre>
<p>This just fetches histories. Although the working
directory remains untouched, we can refer to any branch of
any repository in a Git command because we now possess a
local copy.</p>
<p>Recall that behind the scenes, a pull is simply a
<span class="strong"><strong>fetch</strong></span> then
<span class="strong"><strong>merge</strong></span>. Usually
we <span class="strong"><strong>pull</strong></span> because
we want to merge the latest commit after a fetch; this
situation is a notable exception.</p>
<p>See <span class="strong"><strong>git help
remote</strong></span> for how to remove remote repositories,
ignore certain branches, and more.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h2 class="title"><a id="my_preferences" name=
"my_preferences"></a>My Preferences</h2>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>For my projects, I like contributors to prepare
repositories from which I can pull. Some Git hosting services
let you host your own fork of a project with the click of a
button.</p>
<p>After I fetch a tree, I run Git commands to navigate and
examine the changes, which ideally are well-organized and
well-described. I merge my own changes, and perhaps make
further edits. Once satisfied, I push to the main
repository.</p>
<p>Though I infrequently receive contributions, I believe
this approach scales well. See <a class="ulink" href=
"http://torvalds-family.blogspot.com/2009/06/happiness-is-warm-scm.html"
target="_top">this blog post by Linus Torvalds</a>.</p>
<p>Staying in the Git world is slightly more convenient than
patch files, as it saves me from converting them to Git
commits. Furthermore, Git handles details such as recording
the author’s name and email address, as well as the time and
date, and asks the author to describe their own change.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div><div class="footer"><a href="/~blynn/">Ben Lynn</a></div>
</body>
</html>
|