Re: [Monotone-devel] Re: [cdv-devel] more merging stuff (bit long...)

On Sun, Aug 07, 2005 at 04:40:17PM -0400, Kevin Smith wrote:
> Maybe my preference, which might translate badly to an algorithm, is 
> that any time my changes might win over someone elses, take mine, but 
> whenever theirs might win, be conservative and generate a conflict.

That's a wonderful pull quote ;-).

>From the point of view of a merge algorithm, it's not quite right, I
think.  My approach it is, when you say "merge that thing into my
tree", you're telling the merge algorithm that you do, in fact, want
the thing over there to end up in your tree.  The point of the
merge algorithm is not to make judgement over the quality of the
changes, but just to figure out what "put that thing in my tree" even
_means_.

The other thing is that merges aren't really in the position of
choosing which changes win over another... the tricky part is
determining what a change _is_ in the first place, and then if once
you've done _that_ there are two of them in conflict, that's always a
conflict... but sometimes the first part is hard!

-- Nathaniel

-- 
So let us espouse a less contested notion of truth and falsehood, even
if it is philosophically debatable (if we listen to philosophers, we
must debate everything, and there would be no end to the discussion).
  -- Serendipities, Umberto Eco