[darcs-users] Re: darcs-users Digest, Vol 34, Issue 10

[Robin Bate Boerop]

On 17-Jun-07, at 3:41 AM, darcs-users-request at darcs.net wrote:
> I just thought of 2 disgusting "solutions" :)
>
> Way 1:
>
> - Create a new repository.
> - Add those files, record a patch. Save the "_darcs/inventory" file
>   somewhere.
> - You can now work locally with this repository.
> - If you publish it, make sure nobody can read the first patch or
>   anything in "_darcs/pristine" or anything outside of "_darcs".
> - To make other people able to pull from your repository,  
> distribute the
>   saved "_darcs/inventory" file and instruct people how to build a
>   working repository (darcs init, replace inventory, put the set of
>   files into the right place in the top dir AND under _darcs/pristine)
>
> I tested this locally and it should work (it breaks "darcs repair" for
> everybody since they are missing a patch)

Tobi, I appreciate that you tested this, but it does not satisfy my  
criteria because it requires that I distribute the inventory, which  
contains the files that I do not want to distribute.

However, could I not do as you suggest - not distribute the  
inventory, but rather give instructions on how to reproduce the  
inventory?  Would that work?  (I'm a Darcs newbie, so I can't see if  
it will work or not.)

> Way 2:
>
> Make the first patch (the one with your big files) 100% reproducible.
> In the current darcs repository structure this is easily possible  
> using
> "darcs record -y -l --pipe" and always passing the same input to  
> it. So
> you could distribute a script which checks for the presence of the
> files, creates the init patch and then pulls from your patch  
> repository.
> This has the risk that users could use darcs to pass this init patch
> around...

I think this might work.  But, what is the "-y" flag?  Also, does -- 
pipe suggest that darcs is going to get more than one file piped to  
it?  What exactly does --pipe cause darcs to expect?

I'm okay with users passing that initial patch around - that's their  
business, not mine.