Re: [wishlist?] make submodule commands robust to having non-submodule Subprojects

From: Stefan Beller <sbeller@google.com>
To: Yaroslav Halchenko <yoh@onerussian.com>
Cc: "git@vger.kernel.org" <git@vger.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: [wishlist?] make submodule commands robust to having non-submodule Subprojects
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2016 09:05:10 -0700	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <CAGZ79kZLdsKcf0t=dDB24VVe+V=uqQCW_VNQwSJ638m5Keu2nQ@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20160915130233.GC9833@onerussian.com>

On Thu, Sep 15, 2016 at 6:02 AM, Yaroslav Halchenko <yoh@onerussian.com> wrote:
> NB echos some questions of mine a few days back on IRC about Subprojects
> and submodules
>
> If e.g. you just 'git add' a subdirectory which is a git repository, git
> adds it as a subproject but doesn't initiate any entry in .gitmodules
> since it is the job done by submodule and git core itself is
> agnostic of those beasts.
>
> But having then this "Subproject"s which aren't registered as submodules
> (and I haven't found any other use for them besides being a submodule)
> brakes "git submodule" commands, e.g.
>
> $> git submodule
>  cc6a09ac06c13cf06b4f4c8b54cda9a535e4e385 ds000001 (2.0.0+4)
>  0a9f3b66e06a2137311a537b7377c336f1fb30ad ds000002 (1.0.0-3-g0a9f3b6)
>  9da7e4f4221699915645ac2003298c6aba2db109 ds000003 (1.1.0+4)
>  fe16cacb5cb9b4d53c50e498298fab182500e147 ds000005 (2.0.0+3)
>  6898d99ff3ba26880183ed3672a458a7fcde1737 ds000006 (2.0.0+2)
>  bbd10f634fe87e9d5853df3a891edbdb18cda7f9 ds000007 (2.0.0+3)
>  138e6730193c0585a69b8baf5b9d7a4439e83ecc ds000008 (2.0.0+2)
>  ddf3a4cf7ce51a01a664e6faff4b8334b8414b1f ds000009 (2.0.1+1)
>  7fa73b4df8166dba950c7dc07c3f8cdd50fca313 ds000011 (1.0.0-5-g7fa73b4)
> fatal: no submodule mapping found in .gitmodules for path 'ds000017
>
> which then stops without even looking at other submodules.
>
> I think it would be more logical to make it a 'warning:' not a 'fatal:' and
> proceed.

So maybe we would want to introduce a switch
  `--existing-but-unconfigure-gitlinks=(warn|ignore)`
as well as
`git config submodule.existing-but-unconfigured (warn|ignore)`
for a more permanent solution?

>
> Thank you for consideration
> --
> Yaroslav O. Halchenko
> Center for Open Neuroscience     http://centerforopenneuroscience.org
> Dartmouth College, 419 Moore Hall, Hinman Box 6207, Hanover, NH 03755
> Phone: +1 (603) 646-9834                       Fax: +1 (603) 646-1419
> WWW:   http://www.linkedin.com/in/yarik