[SamcFuchs]

Originally Posted by MamaSpoldi

We have been using SVN for 8 years and it works great.

I'm so sorry.

Originally Posted by MamaSpoldi

last year we decided to store the repository online using SourceForge.

Isn't SourceForge the guys that started bundling malware into installers they were hosting? And besides, I think their primary missive is distribution, not FOSS.

Originally Posted by MamaSpoldi

I am the only one who can commit new code.

What if you're not there? As a lead programmer, I would want more security, so that if the mentor was missing or busy, I would still have control. I don't know how many programmers you have, but this system doesn't seem very scalable - I would be concerned about kinks in collaboration.

Originally Posted by MamaSpoldi

At competitions where we have no internet access I make a backup copy on a flash drive each time our lead programmer loads new code onto the robot.

So every revision goes on that drive? Sounds risky. I like that I don't need an internet connection to git commit. And besides, if you need a mentor, how can you deploy in queue? /s

Originally Posted by MamaSpoldi

This is very helpful when something suddenly works differently on the robot... it helps the programmers be able to validate with certainty what changed and what did not change in the software.

Like git diff?

Originally Posted by MamaSpoldi

Each backup sub-directory is labeled with what was changed and when, eg. CMP-1b-MoreAutoAngle would be the code from Championship, day 1, version b (or 2nd change of the day), and change was adding more rotation driving to autonomous mode.

I guess this works if you don't make too many changes at competitions. Personally, I've been known to make anywhere between 10 and 20 revisions at competitions, with I think a high of 30. Those would be very specific file names.

Originally Posted by MamaSpoldi

This reminds me at a glance the types of changes that were made and when.

Kind of like a commit title?

Originally Posted by MamaSpoldi

After competition, the final version is committed to SVN and marked as a revision.

So after all the work at a competition, you have to summarize that all into one revision?

Anyways, I realize that this came off as kind of an attack, and I didn't mean it as one. I'm just considering potential drawbacks of this workflow. I do like that everything gets summed up into one version for each competition. I guess what it comes down to is whether it works, and it sounds like it does for you.

Personally, I will promote git and GitHub for as long as they are the status quo of the professional programming world. I think it's important to learn those skills if you want to succeed in the workforce, and learning new skills that are applicable to the real world is what FIRST is all about. Our GitHub is at GitHub.com/Team236/ and in my signature.

At the same time, I recognize that it is difficult to teach git and learning it requires a level of dedication that is not commonly found on an average robotics team. After all, our team has pretty much one programmer. I'm curious, what don't you like about git?

By the way, thanks for your help at Waterbury. Thanks in part to your help that day, 236 went 11/11 successful autos at CMP. I'm working on motion profiling and vision for the offseason, and maybe we'll something new next year to show off. Hope to see you at CT state champs!