merge vs pull (was What we did at UBZ)

[Martin Pool]

On 28 Nov 2005, James Blackwell <jblack at merconline.com> wrote:

> I think we're looking at opposite ends of the same telescope.
> 
> I think you're saying that users will loose the ability to differentiate
> between what was a merge and a pull.  I'm saying I think potential users,
> new to RCS, don't have an an intuitive, a priori understanding that these
> are two different things. 
> 
> A vehicle has at least two useful orthoganal states: Driving on
> highways and driving on side streets. 

Except they're not orthogonal at all; there's a continuum from side
streets to highways, and the basic operations (signal/turn/slow/
accelerate) are the same, differing only in degree.

So this is like saying that the operations for a one-person project and
a 200-person project should be same, differing only in their speed,
frequence, etc.  There I agree.

Car analogies can be amusing but in my experience they're rarely
accurate.  If I had to make one it'd be like this: often when you stop
the car you want to turn off the engine, set the handbrake, open the
door, etc.  So you could argue the engine should automatically cut out
when you come to rest.  But obviously people don't always want that.

> Why again do we need this update/merge button on the tool? If bzr can
> figure it out for me, then why do I need to know about it at all?  Since
> ease of use is one of bzr's claims to fame, then it makes sense to yank
> this button out and have the tool make the determination.

In the example you describe above, sometimes you need to review &
commit, and sometimes you don't.  There really are two different
behaviours; we're just debating whether the user should have to choose
which one they want, or whether there should be a heuristic which might
sometimes surprise them.

So there are really two questions:

 - Should there be two behaviours; if not how can they be unified?

 - If there are two behaviours, how do we select one: different
   commands, options, heuristic, etc.

-- 
Martin
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