Mar 6, 2021
2 min read
On Pull Requests
the question is, what pull request means, the difference of pushing and pulling and the overall common sense + some examples of pull requests
1. push vs pull
If you have a code change in your repository and want to move it to a target repository, then:
- PUSH is YOU forcing the changes in the TARGET REPOSITORY with
git push - ➔ push request would be the TARGET REPOSITORY requesting YOU to push your changes already.
- PULL is the TARGET REPOSITORY grabbing changes made by YOU with
git pullfrom the other repo - ➔ A pull request is YOU requesting the TARGET REPOSITORY to please check and grab my changes, I have finished the work.
2. the rationale of the pull request process
- this happens on projects where you are not the lone dev
- pull request is a point when someone is done with the change
- but is not directly merging that into
master/main - pull request is also a request to REVIEW the change (two sets of eyes principle)
- only afterward it can be implemented and released
- pull request is a process of RECONCILIATION of changes you’ve made with changes made by others on the codebase
3. examples/usecases
3.1. code review
- code review is a major benefit of pull requests
3.2. discussion platform
- note: they are designed as a general way to talk about code
- e.g. dev needs help with a feature
- he files a PRkni 2021–03–05-ii
- interested parties are notified
- interested parties are asked the question right next to the relevant commit
3.3. restore point
- we use PRs as a mechanism that creates a restore point for configuration changes
- once the change needs to be restored, we just revert the PR with a click of a button
- all commits are reverted within that umbrella
3.4. empty pull request
- You create an empty PR to which the work is added
- I have seen pull request been created before any work is done at all
- Seems to function as an axis, around which the work should be done
- When u open a pull request on GitHub.
- All commits since the last request + all new ones are automatically added to this request
- You can’t control which commits are added and which are not.
- When you try to open another pull request, I get an “Oops! There’s already a pull request” error.
