[svn.haxx.se] · SVN Dev · SVN Users · SVN Org · TSVN Dev · TSVN Users · Subclipse Dev · Subclipse Users · this month's index

Re: We should bump WC format version number for 1.5.

From: Jack Repenning <jrepenning_at_collab.net>
Date: 2007-10-04 20:49:14 CEST

On Oct 4, 2007, at 11:40 AM, Erik Huelsmann wrote:

> Don't you think the reverse is true? 1.5 is compatible with 1.4,
> unless you use some specific features not many users use anyway?
> (Though maybe they'll start using them now that they're safe to be
> used...)

What I think is that "unless" is death on steroids.

>> you as well, and no there's no safe way to check whether you have
>> just in case you're wondering, and yes I'd be happy to explain that
>> 'depth' stuff for you one more time, and yes it's likely that you'll
>
> But if they don't know what it is, they can't really be using it
> anyway, now can they, or am I wrong here?

Your confidence in the sanity, care, and comprehension of The User is
honorable, but sadly unrealistic. Anything that can go wrong will,
and most of the other stuff as well. Nothing is idiot-proof, there's
always a bigger idiot.

Less humorously: particularly when we pass into the GUI world (as,
e.g., Mark's Subclipse), and especially when we pass well out of the
developer world (as in, e.g., my SCPlugin), we get a whole different
class of users, with a whole different set of concerns, and
remembering all these details of the VC system abstraction just is
not high on their list.

Do they use it? Sure: it's in the help note, or there's a button, so
they try it out. Do the even notice, much less comprehend, the
outcome? Strikingly unlikely, in this particular case.

-==-
Jack Repenning
Chief Technology Officer
CollabNet, Inc.
8000 Marina Boulevard, Suite 600
Brisbane, California 94005
office: +1 650.228.2562
mobile: +1 408.835.8090
raindance: +1 877.326.2337, x844.7461
aim: jackrepenning
skype: jrepenning

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@subversion.tigris.org
For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@subversion.tigris.org
Received on Thu Oct 4 20:49:21 2007

This is an archived mail posted to the Subversion Dev mailing list.

This site is subject to the Apache Privacy Policy and the Apache Public Forum Archive Policy.