QtCS2021 - Git submodules

Session Summary

We use submodules in our qt5 git repository, which has its pros and cons. This talk will provide ruminations and a critical look at whether that's a reasonable approach, and whether we should perhaps reconsider our submodule approach.

Session Owners

• Ville Voutilainen (ville.voutilainen@qt.io)

Notes

• Volker has a CMake script for dependencies that developers could use to abstract away the difficulty of keeping the modules SHA-1s in sync.
• init-repository could be used as a solution for managing SHA-1s of submodules.
  • Build instructions need to be improved; several sources in different places.
• We want to give contributors a set of SHA-1s that are known to work together. This is what qt5.git tries to be. As a Qt developer I want to work against the latest HEAD, not ancient ones.
• Right now it's optimising for the release team instead of contributors.
• Discussion often comes back to changes taking too long to get through CI.
• Ville ponders an alternative lifestyle living as a hermit and fishing for his sustenance.