Subject: Re: [RFC] Submodules in GIT

From: Andreas Ericsson <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 01 Dec 2006 19:06:17 +0100

sf wrote:
> 
> That is one of the points Martin Waitz and I are discussing.
> 
> If I understand you correctly you cannot make any changes to the 
> submodules code _in the supermodule's repository_, no bugfixes, no 
> extensions, no adaptions, nothing. Do you mean that?
> 
> That would be a third alternative. In my opinion the usefulness of 
> submodules would be unnecessarily restricted if it comes to the choice 
> of either using the code from upstream as is or do not use submodules at 
> all. What is the point of the restriction?
> 

That depends on your definition of submodule. In my eyes, a submodule is 
a separate repo that can be committed to separately (and generally also 
built separately), although it's usually built into something else. I'm 
imagining most submodules will contain only library code and its testing 
routines.

Insofar as I've envisioned submodules, it's a separate git repo where 
you simply record a certain snapshot of the sub-repo with a commit in 
the super-module, like so:

$ git commit ssl-functions/*.[ch] openssl -m "Upgraded openssl with 
necessary changes to core code"

(yes, I know it's horrid to use -m to commit, and I daily advocate 
against it where I work, but you get the idea, I'm sure)

Isn't this how it's supposed to work? Enlighten me, and please remember 
that I'm drunk atm, so make it obvious ;-)

-- 
Andreas Ericsson                   [email-masked]
OP5 AB                             www.op5.se