Hacker News Reader

Comment by bildung | Hacker News Reader

Other version control software has way simpler syntax and workflow. Subversion for example. The complexity of git makes total sense if you indeed have a complex, multi-HEADed project like the Linux kernel. But most software isn't Linux.

View on HN

You literally need to know two commands to work with git in a simple project; add and commit. I don’t see how that is any complicated?

By that argument, you literally need to know a single command to work with Mercurial (hg commit) or SVN (svn commit), or hell, even CVS (cvs commit).

git commit -a then.

> "Mercurial (hg commit) or SVN (svn commit), or hell, even CVS (cvs commit)."

Why would I [re]learn those tools if I already know git?

If I'm going to move to a new VCS, it's going to be one that actually gives me something I didn't have before, like Fossil. Not some other VCS that captures the same concepts with a slightly different cli UX (which hardly even impacts me at all, since I rarely interact with such systems on the command line rather than through porcelain provided by an editor extension.)

Sure, I'm not saying they're more difficult, but people here are saying that git adds too much complexity in simple projects. It doesn't, but it lets you expand into the complexity if you ever need it in the future.

You've misinterpreted you finding git to be difficult as everyone finding it difficult, leading to an argument based on git being difficult that will never be compelling to those who didn't find learning git to be difficult. I'm one of them - I don't have any CS training - and so are the interns and new starters who use it without complaint in my workplace.

If you are forced into using it to everything but still haven't taken the steps necessary for understanding it, why is that my problem?

Git is a simple or as complex as you need it to be. And the complexity doesnt come at a cost to anyone who doesn't require it but uses git anyway.

Subversion needs a server, for one. For a single user and a single file, Git is already less overhead.

It doesn't, actually, you can host a repo on the filesystem without any sort of server process.

http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.7/svn.ref.svnadmin.c.create...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com