Re:Moving from SVN to Git in 1,000 easy steps
by sjwright on Saturday December 03, 2011 @05:17AM
(#3307443)
> I don't really understand why git users keep repeating this trope.
You can create a branch in Git without having to touch the main repository. It's a lot cheaper mentally to create a local branch than a globally viewable one. In particular, it's a lot cheaper to create a branch when you don't have to think about whether the work is important enough to deserve one, or if your crazy idea might end up being an embarrassing failure. When a decision only affects yourself, it's a lot easier to be bold.
> SVN has merge tracking, so it Just Works:
SVN can branch easily, and it remembers how a merge went down, but it doesn't know how to merge a branch back into the truck when the truck has since progressed. When SVN merges, it doesn't know if a difference between the two branches is because it was changed on the trunk or on the branch. It just sees a difference.
Git can replay the changes made in the branch on the updated trunk, or vice versa.
You can create a branch in Git without having to touch the main repository. It's a lot cheaper mentally to create a local branch than a globally viewable one. In particular, it's a lot cheaper to create a branch when you don't have to think about whether the work is important enough to deserve one, or if your crazy idea might end up being an embarrassing failure. When a decision only affects yourself, it's a lot easier to be bold.
> SVN has merge tracking, so it Just Works:
SVN can branch easily, and it remembers how a merge went down, but it doesn't know how to merge a branch back into the truck when the truck has since progressed. When SVN merges, it doesn't know if a difference between the two branches is because it was changed on the trunk or on the branch. It just sees a difference.
Git can replay the changes made in the branch on the updated trunk, or vice versa.