Repository format

[Ian Clatworthy]

Matt Doran wrote:
> Aaron Bentley wrote:
>> I expect that the first format where we recommend using rich-root for
>> everything will be brisbane-core.
>>   
> I'm curious.  brisbane-core has been mentioned a few times on the list,
> what's being worked on there?

It a branch containing our progress towards the next-gen repository
format. You'll sometimes here this referred to as "split-inventory" or
"content-hashed-keys" (CHK) format. Several people are working on or
towards this branch include John and Robert.

To give a very brief technical summary, the new format will be more
efficient at storing and processing inventories, making several
operations faster. The overall disk space ought to be reduced as well.
Of course, making a lower level change always has knock-on effects in
higher layers, e.g. some stuff slows down and needs some tweaking
accordingly. brisbane-core is the integration branch pulling together
the new format and the associated tweaks.

Ian C.