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by azov 4843 days ago
Joel's very own article on the Law of Leaky Abstractions (http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/LeakyAbstractions.htm...) comes to mind. Kiln Harmony might abstract away which VCS system you use, but I think in the real world you will just end up having to know both systems (or finally standardizing on one). Think of communication, for example:

- How do I do blah? - Well, you type hg blah-blah - What's hg?

- I fixed this bug on master - Where? - Oh, are you using mercurial? It's called a tip in your world

IMHO this stuff alone makes using two almost identical but different version control systems within a team a bad idea. Then there's that another layer that is supposed to work transparently, but when you have a problem you're never quite sure... is there a bug in hg? git? kiln?..

Really, just pick one system and use it. (hint - pick git :)
4 comments
HeyLaughingBoy 4843 days ago
I'm having a really hard time seeing that. I use version control both at work and for side projects at home.

The only things I need to know are how to check out code, check in code, label and branch. Occasionally I create a repository. Rarely.

If you gave me a GUI that just had those four functions, I wouldn't give a rat's ass what VCS was living under the hood.

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azov 4843 days ago
If it really was that simple, mastering a new VCS would take 5 minutes. But it isn't.

If you need to branch, you also need to know how to merge. Then you'll need to know how to resolve conflicts. You probably need to know what branches are there and how to diff them. And since you know how to check in, it's just a matter of time before you'll need to know how to revert. That's just you alone - once you collaborate with someone else, you'll need to learn how to share code, push, pull, remote branches... There's a reason why your VCS has more than four commands.

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pnathan 4843 days ago
hg is considerably better in UI. Options are consistent, tortoisehg is uber, and the plugins are amazing.
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MetaCosm 4842 days ago
Plugins are hell. As a former contractor I came to loath hg because of them.

"Ohhh, you know hg, great! Lets get started, so our workflow consists of ... 35 minute explanation of 28 community plugins and 4 custom corporate ones".

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sreque 4843 days ago
Mercurial is definitely better.
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jordigh 4843 days ago
No, pick hg. :)
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