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0 pointsbluejekyll7y ago0 comments

> So having run into this problem, folks like Google, Twitter, etc. use monorepos to help address some of this.

I think you’re retroactively claiming that Google actively anticipated this in their choice at the beginning of using Perforce as an SCM. They may believe that it’s still the best option for them, but as I understand it, to make it work they bought a license to the Perforce source code forked it and practically rewrote it to work.

Here’s a tech talk Linus gave at Google in 2007: https://youtu.be/4XpnKHJAok8

My theory (I wonder if someone can confirm this), is that Google was under pressure at that point with team size and Perforce’s limitations. Git would have been an entirely different direction had they chosen to ditch p4 and instead use git. What would have happened in the Git space earlier if that had happened? Fun to think about... but maybe Go would have had a package manager earlier ;)

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thomaslee7y ago

> I think you’re retroactively claiming that Google actively anticipated this in their choice at the beginning of using Perforce as an SCM.

Oh I didn't mean to imply exactly that, but really good point. I just meant that it seems like folks don't typically _anticipate_ these issues so much as they're forced into it by ossifying velocity in the face of sudden wild success. I know at least a few examples of this happening -- but you're right, those folks were using Git.

In Google's case, maybe it's simply that their centralized VCS led them down a certain path, their tooling grew out of that & they came to realize some of the benefits along the way. I'd be interested to know too. :)

edejong7y ago

Maybe Google’s choice for monorepo was pure chance. However, on many occasions the choice was challenged and these kinds of arguments were (successfully) made in order for it to stay.