Moving Windows development to git sounds like a completely irrational decision from a technical standpoint that was driven mostly by marketing concerns.
I worked at Microsoft before and after my team (not Windows) did the Source Depot -> git transition, and I can say that it was mostly for the better. Source Depot was pretty good as non-distributed VCSs go, but it doesn't hold a candle to git. Some specifics:
- Branching in SD sucked, the only way to work on multiple features at once was to either have multiple copies of the repo or constantly fiddle with "package files" that contained your changes, and the whole thing shit the bed if the server went down.
- All the new hires both from college and the industry all know git and there were an increasing number of them who just found it bizarre that Microsoft was still on a proprietary, non-distributed system.
- Higher-ups (correctly, IMO) decided that VSTS/TFS had to have git in order to remain competitive, and that we should be eating our own dogfood. That's partly a marketing concern but also a legitimate technical decision.
Marketing concerns by whom? The nonexisting company behind git? Github when MS doesn't use github? Or you think MS is going to be able to drum up some business just because they use git? Please elaborate!
While I don't agree with OP... you could make a case that switching to Git is a way for Microsoft to make itself more fashionable to the engineering community at large.
The marketing here is: it's cool to work at Microsoft again!
> you could make a case that switching to Git is a way for Microsoft to make itself more fashionable to the engineering community at large.
The marketing here is: it's cool to work at Microsoft again!
But that makes it a technical decision! If it's easier to attract talented engineers because you're using git, that improves the product. I was trying to make this point in my other comment too: OP is drawing a sharp line between "marketing decisions" and "engineering decisions" and sneering at the former, but actually the boundary can be pretty fuzzy.
Because git is the latest fashion rage and by itself incapable of managing the size of the Windows code base. This is the ideal combination of reasons for corporate PHB to decide to use it.
Exhibit A: GVFS was solely invented as a hack to make git usable by the Windows team according to the Windows team blog.
(Yes, there is some sour grapes and sarcasm in this post)
