From 6ac273d5bbee293ed78026c7f150c26c6240c128 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Alex Karle <alex@alexkarle.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2021 17:29:07 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] blog: Publish new post on non-standard git usage

This is top of mind because:

  1. Anthony is encouraging me to blog more
  2. I had a long call with my dad about his notetaking system
     and the lack of backups (just use git!)

My dad's reaction when I suggested he use git (good idea!) made me
feel like something worth writing about :)
---
 ORDER     |   1 +
 blog.7    |   4 ++++
 use-git.7 | 141 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 146 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 use-git.7

diff --git a/ORDER b/ORDER
index 07973cc..c17f8f4 100644
--- a/ORDER
+++ b/ORDER
@@ -14,3 +14,4 @@
 109-creative-coding.txt
 110-text-only.txt
 111-make-obj.txt
+112-use-git.txt
diff --git a/blog.7 b/blog.7
index d651eee..79ef0ab 100644
--- a/blog.7
+++ b/blog.7
@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@ For an up to date list of software/hardware I use, see
 .Xr uses 7 .
 .Sh POSTS
 .Bl -tag -width "XX/XX"
+.It 11/21
+.Xr use-git 7
+- non-standard uses of
+.Xr git 1
 .It 09/21
 .Xr make-obj 7
 - out-of-tree builds with BSD
diff --git a/use-git.7 b/use-git.7
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cbf5953
--- /dev/null
+++ b/use-git.7
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+.Dd November 07, 2021
+.Dt USE-GIT 7
+.Os
+.Sh NAME
+.Nm use-git
+.Nd non-standard uses for
+.Xr git 1
+.Sh DESCRIPTION
+In this post,
+I'm not going to teach you how to use
+.Xr git 1 .
+Instead,
+I wanted to write a quick post to encourage you to use git
+for non-conventional use cases
+(i.e. things other than source code).
+.Pp
+If perchance you're not familiar with git,
+there's a ton of good documentation out there.
+I'd recommend starting with the official and free
+.Lk https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2 Pro Git .
+Also,
+as a PSA,
+just know that git stores whole snapshots and NOT diffs.
+.Pp
+.Sh BACKGROUND
+Git is a distributed version control system,
+and this is a beautiful thing.
+I feel it's often lost on us,
+given that we use it most frequently on centralized forges
+for team collaboration (GitHub, GitLab, etc).
+.Pp
+Git being distributed means you can:
+.Pp
+.Bl -enum -compact
+.It
+Use it offline (your copy is "first class")
+.It
+Mirror it to as many places as you want
+.El
+.Pp
+In other words,
+git can be used without any dependence on a third-party
+service or company and with complete ownership of private data.
+Forges (and I recommend
+.Lk https://sourcehut.org )
+are a great place to backup your code and collaborate,
+but you don't have to use a forge to use git as a futureproof way to do what
+it does best: version your files.
+.Sh STORY TIME
+When I started my first job in tech,
+I found that it was a good habit to take personal notes.
+It was incredibly useful to quickly reference obscure CLI
+commands or system knowledge gained from pairing.
+These were things that were too small or personal to make it into
+standard documentation
+but invaluable to have on hand.
+.Pp
+My first solution was shoving them all into a directory called
+.Pa ~/notes
+as plaintext files.
+They were easy to write and reference,
+and it was simple to back them up by copying the directory
+to another drive nightly.
+.Pp
+Over time,
+the
+.Ql cp -a
+trick broke down:
+.Pp
+.Bl -bullet -compact
+.It
+Files deleted in the source prevailed in the backup
+.It
+Changes more than a day old were lost!
+.El
+.Pp
+Around the same time,
+I started getting more familiar with git,
+and it finally occurred to me:
+I could use git and still keep these notes private!
+.Pp
+Git can clone/push/pull across filesystems,
+so in the matter of minutes I solved both of my issues
+with just:
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+# Set up the backup mirror
+$ git init --bare /backup/drive/notes.git
+
+# Put it to use!
+$ cd ~/notes
+$ git init && git add . && git commit -m "import"
+$ git remote add origin /backup/drive/notes.git
+$ git push -u origin main
+.Ed
+.Pp
+If you don't have a backup drive mounted,
+it's equally good (or better) to make the remote a repo
+accessed over SSH:
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+# On the remote host
+user@example.com~$ git init --bare ~/notes.git
+
+# On the local host
+$ git remote add origin user@example.com:notes.git
+.Ed
+.Sh GOING FURTHER
+These days,
+I shudder at the thought of any important plaintext on my system
+that's not version-controlled somewhere.
+Too many hours are spent writing these little files,
+and it's so easy to version them,
+why risk losing any of that history?
+.Pp
+Aside from my private notes, I version:
+.Pp
+.Bl -bullet -compact
+.It
+System config files from /etc
+.It
+Personal config files (dotfiles)
+.It
+My passwords (via
+.Xr pass 1 )
+.It
+A small set of personal patches for FOSS projects I have yet to polish and upstream (a-la ports-system)
+.It
+My resume (admittedly still a DOCX from college, but versioning has really helped)
+.El
+.Pp
+In conclusion,
+my advice to anyone writing anything of importance:
+just use
+.Xr git 1 !
+.Sh SEE ALSO
+.Bl -bullet -compact
+.It
+.Xr blog 7
+.It
+.Lk https://github.blog/2020-12-17-commits-are-snapshots-not-diffs/ Commits are snapshots, not diffs
+by Derrick Stolee
+.El
--
libgit2 1.1.1