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diff --git a/Documentation/BreakingChanges.adoc b/Documentation/BreakingChanges.adoc index 61bdd586b9..f8d2eba061 100644 --- a/Documentation/BreakingChanges.adoc +++ b/Documentation/BreakingChanges.adoc @@ -118,6 +118,53 @@ Cf. <2f5de416-04ba-c23d-1e0b-83bb655829a7@zombino.com>, <20170223155046.e7nxivfwqqoprsqj@LykOS.localdomain>, <CA+EOSBncr=4a4d8n9xS4FNehyebpmX8JiUwCsXD47EQDE+DiUQ@mail.gmail.com>. +* The default storage format for references in newly created repositories will + be changed from "files" to "reftable". The "reftable" format provides + multiple advantages over the "files" format: ++ + ** It is impossible to store two references that only differ in casing on + case-insensitive filesystems with the "files" format. This issue is common + on Windows and macOS platforms. As the "reftable" backend does not use + filesystem paths to encode reference names this problem goes away. + ** Similarly, macOS normalizes path names that contain unicode characters, + which has the consequence that you cannot store two names with unicode + characters that are encoded differently with the "files" backend. Again, + this is not an issue with the "reftable" backend. + ** Deleting references with the "files" backend requires Git to rewrite the + complete "packed-refs" file. In large repositories with many references + this file can easily be dozens of megabytes in size, in extreme cases it + may be gigabytes. The "reftable" backend uses tombstone markers for + deleted references and thus does not have to rewrite all of its data. + ** Repository housekeeping with the "files" backend typically performs + all-into-one repacks of references. This can be quite expensive, and + consequently housekeeping is a tradeoff between the number of loose + references that accumulate and slow down operations that read references, + and compressing those loose references into the "packed-refs" file. The + "reftable" backend uses geometric compaction after every write, which + amortizes costs and ensures that the backend is always in a + well-maintained state. + ** Operations that write multiple references at once are not atomic with the + "files" backend. Consequently, Git may see in-between states when it reads + references while a reference transaction is in the process of being + committed to disk. + ** Writing many references at once is slow with the "files" backend because + every reference is created as a separate file. The "reftable" backend + significantly outperforms the "files" backend by multiple orders of + magnitude. + ** The reftable backend uses a binary format with prefix compression for + reference names. As a result, the format uses less space compared to the + "packed-refs" file. ++ +Users that get immediate benefit from the "reftable" backend could continue to +opt-in to the "reftable" format manually by setting the "init.defaultRefFormat" +config. But defaults matter, and we think that overall users will have a better +experience with less platform-specific quirks when they use the new backend by +default. ++ +A prerequisite for this change is that the ecosystem is ready to support the +"reftable" format. Most importantly, alternative implementations of Git like +JGit, libgit2 and Gitoxide need to support it. + === Removals * Support for grafting commits has long been superseded by git-replace(1). @@ -183,6 +230,14 @@ These features will be removed. timeframe, in preference to its synonym "--annotate-stdin". Git 3.0 removes the support for "--stdin" altogether. +* The git-whatchanged(1) command has outlived its usefulness more than + 10 years ago, and takes more keystrokes to type than its rough + equivalent `git log --raw`. We have nominated the command for + removal, have changed the command to refuse to work unless the + `--i-still-use-this` option is given, and asked the users to report + when they do so. So far there hasn't been a single complaint. ++ +The command will be removed. == Superseded features that will not be deprecated |