Does IPFS support git merge strategies?

[EtherTyper]

IPFS uses git to version files. Does this mean it supports using git's complex merge strategies like recursive and octopus to track files?

[EtherTyper]

I believe someone can at @ipfs can mark this as answered by #156.

[EtherTyper]

@RichardLitt Probably not. We should keep it for clarification, I think.

[RichardLitt]

Sounds good. Decided to keep it, too (deleted a comment asking we should delete it as a dupe, before the response, for anyone who is curious about the information flow.)

[llopv]

The question is not responded in the issue refered above.

According to the IPFS paper:

The full power of the Git version control tools is available to IPFS users. The object model is compatible, though not the same. It is possible to (a) build a version of the Git tools modified to use the IPFS object graph, (b) build a mounted FUSE filesystem that mounts an IPFS tree as a Git repo, translating Git filesystem read/writes to the IPFS formats.

[EtherTyper]

@llopv Yes it is. The following reiterates on object immutability in IPFS, which means that objects cannot have differentials or be merged together natively.

... in effect objects added to ipfs cannot be deleted or edited. If an edit is required the file(s) must be edited locally and re-uploaded to ipfs, generating a new hash value for the file(s). ...

[EtherTyper]

@llopv Though it is weird the issue contradicts the whitepaper...

[jbenet]

The following reiterates on object immutability in IPFS, which means that objects cannot have differentials or be merged together natively.

What do you mean? Yes they can be-- this is exactly how git works. In git, all objects are immutable, and you use names (branches) to point to the latest immutable object. this is a hash-chain, merkle-dag or whatever you want to call it.

[flyingzumwalt]

This issue was moved to https://discuss.ipfs.io/t/does-ipfs-support-git-merge-strategies/274