Git is a tool for version control. It's mostly used for software source code. Some people think it's a good platform for writers as well. I don't think so. ---- It's my contention that while Git solves a number of issues that arise when managing code, it offers no unique solutions for writers and editors, and introduces a lot of needless complexity in the process. ---- Aside: Comments by git inventor Linus Torvalds raise doubts in my mind about the optimalness of git even for its intended use case (source code): > **You released the Git distributed version control system less than ten years ago. Git caught on quickly and seems to be the dominant source code control system, or at least the one people argue about most on Reddit and Hacker News.** > > Git has taken over where Linux left off separating the geeks into know-nothings and know-it-alls. I didn’t really expect anyone to use it because it’s so hard to use, but that turns out to be its big appeal. No technology can ever be too arcane or complicated for the black t-shirt crowd. > > **I thought Subversion was hard to understand. I haven’t wrapped my head around Git yet.** > > You’ll spend a lot of time trying to get your head around it, and being ridiculed by the experts on github and elsewhere. I’ve learned that no toolchain can be too complicated because the drive for prestige and job security is too strong. Eventually you’ll discover the Easter egg in Git: all meaningful operations can be expressed in terms of the rebase command. Once you figure that out it all makes sense. I thought the joke would be obvious: rebase, freebase, as in what was Linus smoking? But programmers are an earnest and humorless crowd and the gag was largely lost on them. > > — [*Linus Torvalds goes off on Linux and Git*](http://typicalprogrammer.com/linus-torvalds-goes-off-on-linux-and-git/), Sep 25, 2012 ----
Every time I try to learn git, about an hour in I find myself asking, "Wait, why am I trying to learn git?"
— Alan Jacobs (@ayjay) March 19, 2014
@ayjay one of these days I am going to write a book (partly) about why authors should learn serious version control.
— brennen (@brennen) March 19, 2014
@brennen @ayjay the thing is being able to roll back minor changes adds no functional value when dealing with prose.
— Joel Alexander Dueck (@joeld) March 19, 2014
@brennen @ayjay I can’t think of a thing authors need that they can’t get from File: Save As
— Joel Alexander Dueck (@joeld) March 19, 2014
.@joeld @brennen "Dammit, I can't get this novel to compile!"
— Alan Jacobs (@ayjay) March 19, 2014
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[![Manuals](http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/manuals.png )](http://xkcd.com/1343/)
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What does a typical writing/editing workflow look like? Say we're talking about a novel, or a blog post.
* There's almost always a single author.
* Draft 1 → Draft 2 → … Draft *n* → **publish**
Perhaps an editor or proofreader gets involved. They end up bouncing drafts off each other.
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They're both text so any tool that manages text workflows could be used for both; but source code and prose have great differences in practice:
Source Code | Prose |
---|---|
Source code often has multiple authors. |
Prose works have usually only one author and perhaps an editor. |
Source code is functionally sensitive to tiny changes and portions are closely interdependent. Even small edits can have great effects on usability, or even mean the difference between a working and a broken product. |
Prose is not functionally sensitive even to large-scale changes (it's not going to become somehow unusable if you mix your metaphors or misspell a word). |
Source code is frequently reused and extended in whole or in large parts. |
Prose loses value when directly reused since it derives most of its value from its originality. |
this is what it looks like to write a book using github pic.twitter.com/1QSjjbkvbg
— Paul Ford (@ftrain) December 10, 2015
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I started a new tutorial series: @Github for Poets - no code or knowledge of code required. https://t.co/1fVNyzMyOB pic.twitter.com/Tj1c92XQNh
— Daniel Shiffman (@shiffman) April 20, 2016