phpns

Switch to Mercurial, Bitbucket

Posted by alecwh on Wednesday July 29, 2009 1:09 pm

Hello everyone!

I know, I know our track record with sticking to a version control system is quite bad. First we started with Subversion, then we switched to Bazaar, and then moved to git, and then moved back to Bazaar, and now...

We're using Mercurial for SCM, and consequently Bitbucket for online collaboration.

This switch was made yesterday, for the following reasons:

• Manageability. I have other projects on Bitbucket, and I would rather keep all my projects on the same service.
• I love Mercurial. I admit that most current SCM systems (like git, bzr) are almost practically identical for the simple end-user, but Hg some minor user interface differences that I like.
• BitBucket and Mercurial are fast. Pushing to Launchpad with Bazaar took a significant amount of time. With these new tools, I only wait about 5-7 seconds. Not only that, Bitbucket displays the changeset immediately, where Launchpad took a few minutes to process it (so I remember).
• Anonymous bug reporting. Now, you don't need to register in Launchpad to help with the project--just report a bug!
• I can't get used to Launchpad. This may seem a little ridiculous, but it's actually a major factor in this switch. Because version control is so tightly connected with the development process, and thus the developer, these tools *must* be comfortable, or else they become frustrating. Mercurial, and Bitbucket, are simple, streamlined, and fast. These tools make my job easier, so it makes sense to use them.
• I don't like how tight Launchpad and Bazaar are. It makes sense, as Launchpad and Bazaar are operated by the same company... but the relationship is hard-coded in. It feels like if you're using Bazaar, you should be using Launchpad as well.

I'll be updating the site with new links to the repository soon. For now, check out Phpns on Bitbucket using this link: http://bitbucket.org/alecwh/phpns/.

Also, there are some cool features on Bitbucket that I'm going to be taking advantage of soon. I'll keep you posted!