Hello, As I wrote previously here, I am thinking about returning to doing the Git User's Survey this year.
Message-ID: <577e6f32.7020...@gmail.com> https://marc.info/?l=git&m=146790381602547&w=2 https://public-inbox.org/git/577E6F32.7020007%40gmail.com/ The previous email, which did not receive many responses, was a query about the direction we want to have for Git User's Survey 2016. Now I would like to ask about something more specific: what questions (and answers) you would like to see in the survey. Below is my initial proposal; my comments are prefixed with "JN> ". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- #### About you JN> This section gives us a bit of demographical information about survey JN> responders. Is it useful? 01. What country do you live in? (Country of residence) (free-form single line) JN> Survs.com do not offer list of countries as a pre-defined drop-down JN> list (select, with search), and it looks like it is not as easy as JN> I thought (though I could push responsibility to Locale::Country ;-): JN> JN> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states JN> JN> This question originally read "What country are you from?" JN> which might be thought as country of birth... which may not JN> exist any longer. 02. How old are you (in years)? (single number) JN> Perhaps a selection of age ranges would be better (if less precise). JN> We could follow the example of StackOverflow Survey here: ( ) <20 ( ) 20-24 ( ) 25-29 ( ) 30-34 ( ) 35-39 ( ) 40-49 ( ) 50-59 ( ) >60 03. Your gender (single choice) ( ) Man ( ) Woman ( ) Other ( ) Prefer to not disclose JN> This would be new question, to check if we good good diversity JN> among survey responders (and not skewed in particular direction). JN> Though I am not sure if it is a good idea... 04. How would you describe your occupation / role as Git user? (multiple choice with other, limit to 3 selections (?)) [ ] Developer [ ] Programmer [ ] Engineer [ ] Analyst [ ] Manager / Leader [ ] Maintainer / Reviewer / Sub-maintainer [ ] DevOps [ ] Administrator [ ] Designer [ ] Artist / Writer [ ] Tester / QA [ ] Expert [ ] Student [ ] Researcher [ ] Teacher [ ] Other, please specify JN> This is a new question, based somewhat on "Developer Occupations" JN> and "Programmers, Engineers, and Developers" questions in JN> StackOverflow Survey. It is here to find out if different JN> occupation leads to different ways of using Git, and if there JN> is some occupation that is not well served by Git. JN> JN> The list of "occupations" is preliminary, and I would like to JN> ask for your thought about possible answers. 05. Have you ever contributed to Git project (code, documentation, etc.)? ( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) Maybe JN> This is here to correlate other responses with Git developers. JN> In 20012 it was called "Does Git include code or documentation by you? JN> (Are you a Git developer?)". I think this way of stating it is better; JN> if it is here to stay - the number of active and past developers is JN> not very large. On the other hand it can be used to detect if we JN> have a bias due to the way survey is announced. JN> NOTE: earlier surveys have had two additional questions that were JN> since removed (to make survey shorter, among others). Those were: JN> JN> - What is your preferred [non-programming] language? JN> - Which programming languages / technologies you are proficient with? JN> JN> Well, the latter was only about programming languages, originally. #### Getting started with Git JN> This is probably not the best name for this section of questions. 06. Have you found Git easy to learn? (single choice) * Very easy * Easy * Reasonably easy * Hard * Very hard 07. Have you found Git easy to use? (single choice) * Very easy * Easy * Reasonably easy * Hard * Very hard JN> Those two questions, considered alone, doesn't tell us much. If one JN> uses git, then usually one does not think it is too hard to use JN> (unless forced to use git by external circumstances, like project JN> he/she works on using git). On the other hand those two questions JN> together give us some mesaure of Git's learning curve, telling us JN> if people consider git easy to use but hard to learn, or vice versa ;-) JN> JN> This question was present from the beginning of Git User's Survey, JN> so it can be used to compare with historical surveys, and see JN> Git evolution in motion (hopefully in good direction, that is getting JN> easier to learn and use). 08. Which Git version(s) are you using? (multiple choice, with other) + pre 2.0 + 2.0.x to 2.5.x + 2.6.x + 2.7.x + 2.8.x + 2.9.x or newer + 2.10.x-rcN version (release candidate) + minor (maintenance) release 1.x.y.z + 'master' branch of official git repository + 'next' branch of official git repository + version from msysGit / Git for Windows fork repository + alternate Git implementation (JGit and similar) + other, please specify JN> I don't know if it is a good range. One thing that might be good JN> to know is people using outdated Git, perhaps because it is version JN> bundled with GUI tool (e.g. using last msysGit instead of Git for JN> Windows, that is 1.9.x at latest). JN> JN> If we want connection with last survey, from 2012, we would JN> need to go back down to 1.7.x or earlier version... 09. On which operating system(s) do you use Git? (multiple choice, with other) + GNU/Linux + MS Windows + macOS + *BSD (FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, etc.) + Android + iOS + other Unix + other, please specify JN> This question was a part of previous surveys, but it was asked JN> a bit later. This year I skipped asking about Cygwin vs native JN> Git for Windows. Note that I am not sure if Android and iOS, JN> added just now, should be present here. 10. Rate your own proficiency with Git (single choice, rating) 1. novice 2. casual, needs advice 3. everyday use 4. can offer advice 5. know it very well Description: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can think of it as 1-5 numerical grade of your proficiency in Git. JN> This question tell us penetration of announcements of the survey; JN> did we get to all users, or only to git gurus? It is also useful JN> for correlating with other responses, for example to get to know JN> which Git features are used by novices, and which by gurus. JN> JN> Note that the answers are rather here to stay because of JN> "backwards compatibility", that is to be able to easy compare JN> with earlier surveys. JN> I have moved questions around, so we now have 5 questions per JN> section. I wonder if it is something worth having (from the JN> point of view of answering survey). #### How do you use Git 11. I use Git for (check all that apply): (multiple choice, with other) Note that those choices are neither orthogonal nor exclusive. One might want to check multiple answers even for a single repository. JN> Answers to this question probe different direction. JN> We might want to split this question... but on the other hand JN> I think we'd rather reduce the number of questions in the survey. + work and work-related projects + unpaid projects + closed-source projects + OSS development, public domain, and published & unlicensed + private (unpublished), in house projects JN> It was "proprietary projects" instead of "closed-source projects" JN> in previous version(s) of Git User's Survey + code (programming) and its documentation + data, documents, static assets (without code) + sharing data or synchronization + managing configuration files + backup + frontend / fat-client to other SCM (e.g. git-svn, git-p4) JN> I'm not sure if the last answer should not be moved to JN> question about other version control systems + other, please specify 11. How do/did you obtain Git (install and/or upgrade)? (multiple choice, with other) JN> Perhaps this question should be moved to previous section. JN> If yes, should we keep it to 5 questions per section, that JN> is move or remove other question then? Note that this question is multiple choices question because one can install Git in different ways on different machines or on different operating systems. + binary package + source package or script (automatic compiling) + source tarball/archive (extract, make, make install) + pull from repository, and compiled + bundled with GUI or other kind of tool + preinstalled / sysadmin job + other - please specify (if none of the above apply) JN> The "bundled" answer is new. I guess that most people would JN> not check if GUI brought it own Git (sometimes very outdated; JN> SourceTree for Windows bundled git 1.9.7 (sic!)) and is using JN> it instead of system- or user-installed Git. JN> JN> Note for example that Eclipse brings JGit, implementation JN> of Git in Java, and would be covered by "bundled" answer... JN> NOTE: I think we can skip JN> JN> What Git interfaces, implementations and frontends do you use? JN> JN> question. What do you think? 12. What kind of Git tools do you use? (multiple choice, with other) + editor/IDE VC integration (e.g. EGit (for Eclipse), TextMate bundle, magit (for GNU Emacs)) + filemanager / shell extension (e.g. git-cheetah, TortoiseGit, Git Extension) + filesystem interface (e.g. gitfs, figfs) + graphical history viewer/browser (e.g. gitk; might be a part of GUI tool) + graphical commit tool (e.g. git-gui; might be a part of GUI tool) + graphical diff and/or merge tool (e.g. Kompare, Meld; might be a part of GUI tool) + graphical blame or pickaxe tool (e.g. 'git gui blame'; might be a part of editor plugin) + tool to manage git repositories (e.g. Gitolite) + git-instaweb, or self-hosted web interface (e.g. gitweb, cgit) + self-hosted project hosting solution (e.g. GitLab, GitHub FI, GitPrep, Phabricator) + self-hosted code review or audit system (e.g. Gerrit, Differential) + patch or patch series management interface (e.g. StGit, Guilt, git-series) + command line tab-completion, or equivalent (e.g. git-completion.sh) + shell prompt, or widget, desklet, etc. (e.g. git-prompt / __git_ps1(), git-radar) + git aware pager, or syntax highlighter (e.g. tig, diff-highlight) + credentials helper, or askpass wrapper + remote helper to store repository (e.g. FTP, Amazon S3, Dropbox) + remote helper to interact with foreign repositories (e.g. git-hg) + my own scripts (for daily use) + my own scripts (for special tasks) + other, please specify JN> Does this list cover all kind of tools that one might be using, JN> or is some category missing from the above list (slightly modified JN> and extended compared to previous surveys)? 13. List Git tools that you are using (comma separated, or one per line) 13. List git tools that you use (optional) (textarea) JN> Open ended questions are often a pain to analyze, but I don't think JN> this one would be a problem. Instead of free-form text field we JN> could provide a list of most common GUIs and other tools... but I am JN> not sure what they are, and we are risking skewing results. On the JN> other hand free-form might mean people forgetting about tool they use, JN> or used in the past; it is also a bit more work, to write and not JN> only to select. 14. How often do you use Git command line (and other command line tools)? (single-choice, rating-like) 1. never 2. rarely 3. often 4. only (always) JN> This is a new question, replacing somewhat "What Git interfaces, JN> implementations and frontends do you use?". I'm not quite sure if JN> it is a question worth to have. 15. Which git hosting site(s) do you use for your project(s)? Please check only hosting sites where you publish/push to (with git) (multiple choice, with other) JN> I think it should be limited to *main* hosting sites; there is JN> always the "other, please specify" option + GitHub + Bitbucket + GitLab + SourceForge + Savannah or Gna! + CodePlex + git hosting site for related projects (e.g. OLPC, freedesktop.org) + company internal / self-hosted + other, please specify JN> Gitorious was acquired/changed into GitLab, Google Code is in archive JN> mode, BerliOS is no longer. CodePlex is new; many hosting sites that JN> were present are missing, but could be added: Assembla, Beanstalk, JN> CloudForge (formerly Codesion), Codebase, Deveo, Unfuddle, perhaps JN> even Alioth (Debian), Fedora Hosted, Launchpad (Ubuntu) JN> JN> "Company internal" and "self-hosted" got concatenated into one answer. JN> This question could be moved to the next section. #### Git workflows, or #### Interacting with other repositories 16. How do you fetch/get changes from upstream repositories and/or other developers? (multiple choice, with other) + git protocol (e.g. git://git.example.com/repo.git) + ssh (e.g. ssh+git://git.example.com/repo.git, git.example.com:/srv/scm/repo.git) + http (e.g. http://git.example.com/repo.git) + rsync (DEPRECATED) (e.g. rsync://git.example.com/repo.git) + filesystem (e.g. /path/to/repo.git, file:///path/to/repo.git) + applying patches (e.g. git-am from emails) + via git-bundle + foreign SCM (fat-client or remote helper, e.g. git-svn, git-p4, gitifyhg) + Other, please specify JN> Nobody should be using rsync, as it got broken and nobody noticed, JN> and then removed from Git. Note that "applying patches" is new, JN> because question got extended to cover getting changes from other JN> developers (in maintainer role), not only from upstream repo. JN> This question is about getting changes into local work repository. 17. How do you publish/propagate your changes? (multiple choice, with other) + push via SSH + push via HTTP / HTTPS + push via git protocol (NOT RECOMMENDED) + push (unknown) + pull request (+ any form of announcement / notification) + format-patch + email + format-patch + other (e.g. reviewboard, issue tracker or forum) + git bundle + git-svn (to Subversion repository) + git-p4 (to Perforce repository) + foreign SCM interface (other than mentioned above) + other - please specify XX. How do you integrate changes from others? (multiple choice, with other) + merge (includes 'git pull') + rebase (includes 'git pull --rebase') + reapply (e.g. git-am from patches) + git-imerge (third-party tool) + git mergetool or other graphical merge tool + graphical rebase tool JN> This is proposed new question about workflows. XX. What types of branches can be found in your repositories? (repositories you use or are contributing to) (multiple choice, with other) + there is only a single branch + development/graduation branches (master/stable, next/devel/unstable etc.) + per-release maintenance branches + proposed-updates integration testing and WIP publish branch + bugfix / hotfix branches (topic branches for bug fixes) + release branches (for preparing a new release) + other short-lived topic / feature branches ? orphan branches (with disconnected history, e.g. gh-pages, todo) + other types and uses, please describe JN> This is new question. It doesn't ask about use of git-flow, but JN> is close. #### How you use Git 18. Which of the following Git features do you use? (multiple choice, with other) + end-of-line conversion (crlf or eol) + custom diff/merge driver + textconv + other gitattributes (e.g. clean/smudge filter) + word diff + merge strategy options (e.g. -Xrenormalize) + submodules (subprojects) + subtree merge (e.g. git-subtree, git-stree) + partial (sparse) checkout + shallow clone (e.g. "git clone --depth=<n>") + multiple worktrees (e.g. git-worktree) + alternates mechanism (sharing object database) + stash and autostash (also "git stash --keep-index") + detaching HEAD (e.g. "git checkout --detach", "git checkout <tag>") + orphan branches, with disconnected history (gh-pages, todo, man, etc.) + commit message templates, and/or commit-related hooks + interactive commit / per-hunk comitting / partial commit / splitting commits + interactive rebase, fixup commits (small scale history editing) + git-filter-branch or equivalent, like BFG Repo Cleaner (large history rewriting) + finding errors in history with bisect (also "git bisect run <script>") + tracking code movement with git-blame ("git blame -M" etc.) + committing with dirty tree (keeping some changes uncommitted) + reflog (including @{1}, @{yesterday}, @{-1} / -, 'git log -g') + git-aware shell prompt + git aliases, shell aliases for git, or own git scripts + one-way interaction with other SCMs (from SCM to git) + two-way interaction with other SCMs (from SCM to git, from git to SCM) + object overlays (git replace or grafts) + object annotation (git notes) + Other, please specify JN> The problem is come up not with exhaustive list of features: there are JN> too many of them to list. The problem is coming up with list of JN> important and used enough often features (and those interesting to JN> know about). JN> JN> So: what features should be included in this list? What features JN> should be removed from above list of answers? JN> JN> Should this question be split into parts? Should we ask how often JN> those features are used (matrix-form question)? 19. Describe what features would you like to have in Git (free form, essay length / textarea) JN> The Git User's Survey 2012 (last survey) have had also JN> "17. Which of the following features would you like to see JN> implemented in git?", with a list of answers. But as Git development JN> is not directed by surveys, I'm not sure if it is worth it. JN> JN> Such free-form question would be a pain to analyze well, but it JN> could also be a source of a good inspiration. #### Other version control systems 20. What other version control systems (SCM) do you use beside Git? (multiple choice, with other) Explanation: "using" version control system here means using it to actively contribute (propose changes or accept proposals), and not only e.g. using it to download software. JN> Perhaps we should split it into two questions, one about JN> centralized version control systems, one about distributed JN> ones. JN> JN> Clarification (narrowing of scope) is new. + SCCS + RCS + CVS + Subversion + Perforce + ClearCase + AccuRev SCM + StarTeam + Visual SourceSafe + Team Foundation Server + Visual Studio Team System / ALM + Rational Team Concert + Bazaar (bzr) + Mercurial (hg) + Monotone + Darcs + SVK + Fossil + Veracity + BitKeeper + Code Co-op + TeamWare + Plastic SCM + Veracity + other, please specify JN> Is there any *prominent* and important version control system JN> missing from this list? Are there systems that are so rare that JN> they should be removed from the list? 21. How does Git compare to other SCM tools you have used? (single choice, rating) Git is ____ that other version control systems I have used. * better * equal (comparable) * it depends (in some matters better, in some matters worse) * worse * cannot compare (have not used anything beside Git) #### What you think of Git? 22. Overall, how happy are you with Git? (single choice, rating) * unhappy * not so happy # neutral * happy * very happy * completely ecstatic JN> I'm not sure if this question is at all useful. JN> JN> There is also problem, that the current wording is considered biased JN> by some, but on the other hand changing wording of answers would make JN> it impossible to compare it to answers from previous surveys... JN> Though I have added 'neutral' as an answer. Perhaps I should add JN> most negative answer to make rating balanced? JN> JN> # hate Git with a passion of thousands suns 23. In your opinion, which areas in Git needs improvement? Please state your preference. (matrix) Columns: don't need / a little / some / much + user-interface (UI and UX) + core documentation # messages, error messages, advices + performance + more features + tools (e.g. GUI) + localization (translation) of messages # translated documentation (manpages) JN> Are there any general areas that are missing from this list? JN> What are they? JN> JN> Note that "translated documentation" and "messages..." are new. 24. How do you compare the current Git version with the version from one year ago? (single choice) * better * no changes * worse * cannot say * Git used for less than 1 year JN> This question is mainly excuse for providing list of main changes JN> from the year ago, to show off how Git continues improving. JN> List of new features and other changes taken from RelNotes. Description: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The version from approximately one year ago is x.y.z from DD-MM-YYYY (x.y.v is from DD-MM-YYYY). Changes since x.y.z include: [TO BE DONE] #### Documentation. Getting help. == 25. How useful have you found the following forms of Git documentation? (matrix) Columns: never used / not useful / somewhat / useful ------------------------------------------------------ + help distributed with git (manpages, tutorials, guides, etc.) + "Pro Git" book + Git Wiki + Git Reference site + hosting site tutorials and help, etc. + 'git' section of StackOverflow Documentation + other on-line help + printed books (or ebooks) Description: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ * help distributed with Git includes their online version: - https://git.github.io/htmldocs/git.html - https://git-scm.com/docs/ - https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/ * Git Wiki was to be found at http://git.wiki.kernel.org * Git Reference site can be found at http://gitref.org * StackOverflow Documentation refers to http://stackoverflow.com/documentation/git * "Pro Git" can be found at https://git-scm.com/book and https://progit.org * hosting sites tutorials include - https://help.github.com/ - https://www.atlassian.com/git/ ? https://www.git-tower.com/learn/git/ebook * help distributed with git include manpages, manual, tutorials, HOWTO, release notes, technical documentation, contrib/examples/ JN> Should we split those answers further, e.g. separating on-line JN> tutorials and guides, from on-line tips etc.? JN> JN> This is also educational, showing where one can find documentation; JN> note that StackOverflow Documentation in yet in Beta. 25. What [channel(s)] do you use to request/get help about Git [(if any)]? (multiple choice, with other) + git mailing list (git@vger.kernel.org) + "Git for Human Beings" Google Group + msysGit mailing list / Google Group + IRC (#git) + IRC (other git/SCM related, e.g. #github) + IRC (other than above) + request in blog post or on wiki + asking git expert/git guru/colleague/friend + project mailing list, or IRC, or forum + Twitter or other microblogging platform + instant messaging (IM) like XMPP/Jabber + StackOverflow or other StackExchange site + search specific site or whole web (e.g. with Google) + find and read book or ebook + watch an instructional video or course + attend a seminar, webinar or lecture about Git (interactively) + N/A (didn't request help about Git) + other (please specify) JN> Are there any main channels of requesting help that I have missed in JN> the above list of answers? What are they, and why do you think they JN> are important enought to warrant inclusion in above list? JN> JN> Should we ask the opposite: how one provides help (if one does)? 26. Which books about Git have you read and recommend, or plan to read? (multiple choice, with other) JN> New question. List of answers based partially on the "Books" section JN> in https://git-scm.com/documentation/external-links , ordered by date JN> of latest edition to within a year. JN> JN> Should "plan to read" be included in question, or not? + "Pragmatic Version Control Using Git", by Travis Swicegood (2008) + "Pragmatic Guide to Git", by Travis Swicegood (2010) ? "Version Control by Example", by Eric Sink (2011) + "Version Control with Git", by by Jon Loeliger and Matthew McCullough (1st ed. 2009, 2nd ed. 2012) + "Git: Version Control for Everyone", by Ravishankar Somasundaram (2013) + "Pro Git", by Scott Chacon and Ben Straub (1st ed. 2009, 2nd ed. 2014) + "Git Version Control Cookbook", by Aske Olsson and Rasmus Voss (2014) + "Git in Practice", by Mike McQuaid (2014) + "Git for Teams", by Emma Hogbin Westby (2015) + "Git Essentials", by Ferdinando Santacroce (2015) + "Mastering Git", by Jakub Narębski (2016) JN> What *good* books should be added here? I'd rather add only those books JN> which have a paper version, and not be ebook-only (or be on a website JN> only). #### About this survey. Open forum. 27. How did you hear about this Git User's Survey? === (single choice, with other) * git mailing list * git-related mailing list (e.g. msysGit, Git for Human Beings) * mailing list or forum of some project * #git IRC channel topic * announcement on IRC channel * git homepage * git wiki * git hosting site (or blog related to such site) * software-related web site * news or social news site (e.g. Digg, Reddit) * blog (or blog planet) * other kind of web site * Twitter or other microblogging platform * other - please specify JN> This list would of course be updated to reflect the list of (planned) JN> announcement channels. I also plan to use separate "channels" JN> (separate shorter URLs) for different announcements. JN> JN> I'm not sure how useful would it be. 28. Other comments and suggestions What other comments or suggestions do you have, that are not covered by the questions above? (essay length / textarea) JN> This would be hard to analyze... -- Jakub Narębski -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe git" in the body of a message to majord...@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
