Stuck on Feature Branches

Sometimes you are in a situation where you are stuck with Feature Branches. This could be because your team hasn't made the glorious switch over to Git Patch Stack yet. Or it could be you are dropping in as a consultant to help a team out with something. Or maybe you are working on a team that has a bunch of automation setup already around the use of Feature Branches.

Whatever your situation, don't fret! Git Patch Stack is designed such that you can use it locally and still get a lot of the benefits even if you are stuck in the world of Feature Branches.

Build up Patch Series

The big difference between the normal workflow and this one is simply that you don't request review of the individual patches as soon as you finalize them. Instead, you build up a series of finalized patches in the correct order within in your patch stack. Then you effectively request review of the series of patches.

This sadly means you don't get the benefits of near continuous integration. However, all is not lost. If you use Git Patch Stack locally and follow the best practices and methodology around creating small logical patches. You will end up with a well-defined series of patches that will stand as a logical "proof of work" for your feature. Beyond that those logical patches will be invaluable later on as part of the Git history.

Request Review of Series

Once you have built up your patch series of finalized patches. We need to request review of that patch series. The most direct process to do this with Git Patch Stack is the following.

  1. build up your series of finalized patches in your stack
  2. request review of the patch series - e.g. gps rr 1-3

Note: The gps request-review command allows you to pass the -n your-branch-name switch to it if you want to control the name of the branch created.

Deal with Feedback

Often times you will get feedback on your Pull Request when it is reviewed. You can address this using the following.

  1. update the patches in your patch stack to address the feedback
  2. re-request review of the patch series - e.g. gps rr 1-3
  3. comment on the Pull Request letting the reviewer know what changes you have addressed and that they have been pushed up