Goal Determine whether to activate the generaldelta storage mode for new Mercurial 2.0+ repositories and how that choice affects client compatibility. Current Constraints Revisions are stored as deltas against any previous revision, reducing repository size. Only Mercurial 1.9 and newer understand the revlog version 1 required by generaldelta. Older clients (≤1.8) abort with unknown revision log version when accessing a generaldelta repository. Switching the format after repository creation requires a full store rewrite. Unresolved Decision The default value for the generaldelta setting in the repository’s .hg/hgrc remains undecided in the 5.x series. Some distributions enable it by default, while others preserve the legacy delta format for backward compatibility. Questions Should generaldelta be the default storage mode for all new Mercurial 5.x repositories? What migration strategy is required to convert an existing legacy repository to generaldelta without data loss? How can administrators guarantee that all collaborators’ clients remain compatible when generaldelta is enabled?

Generaldelta in Mercurial 2.0: Compatibility & Default Decision

Enabling generaldelta in Mercurial 2.0 Repositories: Compatibility Concerns

28K reputation · 20 Dec 2021, 21:24 UTC

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Goal

Determine whether to activate the generaldelta storage mode for new Mercurial 2.0+ repositories and how that choice affects client compatibility.

Current Constraints

Revisions are stored as deltas against any previous revision, reducing repository size.
Only Mercurial 1.9 and newer understand the revlog version 1 required by generaldelta.
Older clients (≤1.8) abort with unknown revision log version when accessing a generaldelta repository.
Switching the format after repository creation requires a full store rewrite.

Unresolved Decision

The default value for the generaldelta setting in the repository’s .hg/hgrc remains undecided in the 5.x series. Some distributions enable it by default, while others preserve the legacy delta format for backward compatibility.

Questions

Should generaldelta be the default storage mode for all new Mercurial 5.x repositories?
What migration strategy is required to convert an existing legacy repository to generaldelta without data loss?
How can administrators guarantee that all collaborators’ clients remain compatible when generaldelta is enabled?

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Enabling generaldelta in Mercurial 2.0 Repositories: Compatibility Concerns

Goal

Current Constraints

Unresolved Decision

Questions

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