Re: Journal of Failed Git Experiments, Volume 1

[Johannes Schindelin]

Hi Peff,

On Wed, 14 Sep 2016, Jeff King wrote:

> I try a lot of different experiments with git performance, some of them
> more hare-brained than others. The ones that succeed end up as real
> patches. But I hate for the ones that fail to die a quiet death. Then
> nobody learns what _doesn't_ work, and nobody has the opportunity to
> point out the spot where I made a stupid mistake that invalidates the
> whole result.

To show those experiments, with analysis, is a really good idea.

I found the zstd experiment in particular very educating, as I wondered
about the same: could we maybe use it to accelerate Git operations? Now I
know.

Ciao,
Dscho

Journal of Failed Git Experiments, Volume 1

[Jeff King]

I try a lot of different experiments with git performance, some of them
more hare-brained than others. The ones that succeed end up as real
patches. But I hate for the ones that fail to die a quiet death. Then
nobody learns what _doesn't_ work, and nobody has the opportunity to
point out the spot where I made a stupid mistake that invalidates the
whole result.

Here are two performance experiments that did _not_ turn out. They
are in patch form, because I want to document exactly what I did
(especially because it helps in the "stupid mistake" case, or if
somebody wants to try building on my results).

So without further ado:

  [1/2]: obj_hash: convert to a critbit tree
  [2/2]: use zstd zlib wrapper

-Peff