Re: Updated Sourceware infrastructure plans

[Simon Marchi <simark@simark.ca>]

On 2024-04-22 22:55, Jason Merrill via Overseers wrote:
> On Mon, Apr 22, 2024 at 11:42 AM Tom Tromey <tom@tromey.com> wrote:
> 
>>>>>>> "Frank" == Frank Ch Eigler <fche@redhat.com> writes:
>>
>>>> [...]  I suggest that a basic principle for such a system is that it
>>>> should be *easy* to obtain and maintain a local copy of the history
>>>> of all pull requests.  That includes all versions of a pull request,
>>>> if it gets rebased, and all versions of comments, if the system
>>>> allows editing comments.  A system that uses git as the source of
>>>> truth for all the pull request data and has refs [...]
>>
>> Frank> Do you know of a system with these characteristics?
>>
>> Based on:
>>
>>
>> https://gerrit-review.googlesource.com/Documentation/dev-design.html#_notedb
>>
>> ... it sounds like this is what gerrit does.
>>
> 
> Someone mentioned earlier that gerrit was previously tried unsuccessfully.
> I think this is a common pattern in GCC at least: someone has an idea for a
> workflow improvement, and gets it working, but it isn't widely adopted.  I
> think this is a problem with the "if you build it he will come" model
> rather than with any particular technology; people are more or less
> comfortable with their current workflow and uninclined to experiment with
> someone else's new thing, even if it could eventually be a big improvement.

Agreed.

Gerrit has many nice features, but using it would require doing some
compromises over some things that some community members consider very
important.  Would have to give up some things we take for granted today,
such as being able to interact 100% by email.  But staying with the
current way of working because we can't find another way of working that
checks 100% of the checkboxes also has an opportunity cost.  I doubt
we'll ever find a system that checks absolutely all the checkboxes, but
that doesn't mean that the current system is the best.

> I think that the office hours, for both sourceware and the toolchain, offer
> a better path for building enthusiasm about a new direction.

As someone who pushed to try Gerrit back then, I'd be happy to chat at
the next office hours (if you remind me).

> Is gerrit still installed?

Hum yes actually, you can check `gnutoolchain-gerrit dot osci dot io`.
But it should really be taken down, it's not responsible to leave an
unattended outdated web service like that.

Simon