"Fossil can do that!" task-oriented article series?
(1) By pd (inspector71) on 2024-01-08 07:38:31 [source]
I really like the idea of Fossil effectively being a better git. Something that frustrates me about git is how awkward everything is. We're always presented with arcane command line syntaxes that aren't even consistent between constituent modules of what passes itself off as a single entity but is far from it. In order to generate more interest in fossil, would it be a good idea to create documentation not so much about how to do a task technically, but from a point of view of getting everyday tasks done in Fossil? There's some cool features built into GitHub that would be great to replicate on the CLI in Fossil. Thereby eradicating the extraneous web formatting and annoying lack of long pages on GitHub. That could be a starting point. The problem I had today might be a good example. GitHub provides cool comparisons between branches and tags and so forth. Simple drop down menus pick the branch or tag starting point, then a secondary drop menu the ending point. Soon as you select the ending reference (branch or tag), the commit list between the two gets b generated, but annoyingly paginated. A really interesting way to go about writing task-oriented documentation might be to use real repositories with substantial histories from real projects. That could be more meaningful than to effectively say, in documentation, "well, in theory, do it this way" with a generic example that may not transpose to reality. Stack Overflow seems littered with people posting examples with git hash examples when many people would possibly relate easier to named references. Call it "Fossil can do that!". Would not matter if that title is perceived by git people to infer such tasks are not possible in git because anyone who takes that angle on it can demo how to do that task in git and ipso facto generate discussion and debate, perhaps often not only raising awareness of Fossil but also highlighting the difficulties of getting simple things done in git. Who knows, for those stuck with git, might even generate improvements they can benefit from.
(2) By Stephan Beal (stephan) on 2024-01-08 08:09:33 in reply to 1 [link] [source]
The problem I had today might be a good example. GitHub provides cool comparisons between branches and tags and so forth. Simple drop down menus pick the branch or tag starting point, then a secondary drop menu the ending point.
From the fossil CLI:
fossil diff -by --from BRANCH_NAME --to OTHER_BRANCH_NAME
(-by shows a side-by-side in a browser window, but my personal preference is...)
a frequent use case for me is:
fossil diff -tk --from prev
which diffs the current checkout against its parent (previous) version.
(-tk uses a tcl/tk window, rather than launching a browser.)
From the /timeline page you can click on the dot of any two entries in the check-in graph to diff them. That only works if they're both on the screen at the same time, but it's also easy to manually enter the URL for such diffs: /vdiff?from=VERSION1&to=VERSION2
It's likely that Warren, our local Dokumeister, has already addressed your main point somewhere, so let's wait for his timezone to wake up to hear more about that.
(3) By pd (inspector71) on 2024-01-08 13:22:43 in reply to 2 [link] [source]
Thank you. Sensational help.
Regarding Warren, he of the coolest moniker ðŸ¤, please know that I did not intend to suggest there was not already such great content. I suppose I was overly presumptuous in my ... ermm, passionate frustration with git ... that such great content did not already exist. By all means, point me in the direction of such content. Could be a good read 😃
(4) By Warren Young (wyoung) on 2024-01-08 19:29:46 in reply to 1 [link] [source]
There's some cool features built into GitHub
You've given us one example, which is thin inspiration for starting a new document. A list of examples would be more useful.
Simple drop down menus pick the branch or tag starting point
That's arguably easier in Fossil, if less discoverable. Go to any timeline display, then click the bubble next to one checkin as a starting point for your diff, then click the end point of the diff to get a /vdiff between those two points.
This is tip #1 here. The rest of the tips on that page might contain eye-openers for you, too.
use real repositories with substantial histories
Fossil could of course use its own self-hosting repo since the docs and the source code are in the same repo, but I don't see how that applies in this thread's example case. All linking to an instance like this would do is show off /vdiff, not the bubble-clicking method that yielded it.