> Dealing with git is a huge pain. When I screw something up in git, I have > to take a deep breath, look things up on StackOverflow, and double check > all my commands, so that I don't break something. The only reason I > learned it was because I had to learn it to contribute to open source > projects. And when I try to help newbies make their first open source > contribution, the biggest roadblock is always git. When I used version > control for my solo research project, I used mercurial. Mercurial is not > just for small projects. Python uses mercurial for their open source > project. Facebook recently started using Mercurial instead of Git [1].
While it would be entertaining, I doubt this forum as a whole would really appreciate a Git vs Mercurial holy war. I mean, we could try, but I'd anticipate consequences like booing from the sidelines :D As I understand it, it would not be controversial to say that the heuristic difference between Git and Mercurial is that the former offers more flexibility and power, whereas the latter is easier to learn. However, the difference is almost irrelevant. At the end of the day, the tools we use are often not decided by ourselves but by the people we work with. Today I even had to open and edit an xlsx file. It was painful and I had to take a bath afterwards but I had to do it for work. I didn't even tell the person what a faux pas they had made. If they use Excel then they already have enough suffering in their life without me adding my gripes on top ;) Likewise with Git vs Mercurial. When I need to start collaborating with people who use Mercurial, I'll use Mercurial. However, I personally don't know anyone who uses Mercurial. Or if I do they keep their use clandestine. Almost everyone I know who uses any kind of non-trivial version control uses Git. I've collaborated on software, papers and workshop material in Git. When it comes to teaching, I've never heard anyone request a Mercurial workshop, but people always want to learn about Git. I do know a handful of people who still hang onto Subversion. Well, when I need to collaborate with them, I will make sure to brush up on my Subversion. Since no one has ever asked for me to collaborate in Mercurial, and since no one in our community has ever asked for workshops on Mercurial, the idea of retraining in a tool reputedly less flexible and powerful than what I use now doesn't really grab me. (And forgive me if I don't take Facebook as a model of best practice ...) OTOH, if the question is, what tools should SWC teach, well, for myself, I tend to only teach tools that I use a lot and know reasonably well. This includes Git but doesn't currently include Mercurial. However, SWC does have Mercurial lesson material. So, if there is demand in your community for Mercurial then don't let me stand in your way -- but please desist with efforts to paint Mercurial as the superior option ;) Best regards, Tim _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org
