docs: add filter-branch notes on The BFG
commit615b8f1a8d41e6c27f308e74eacb5ef9e99a26af
authorRoberto Tyley <roberto.tyley@gmail.com>
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:25:16 +0000 (18 14:25 +0000)
committerJunio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 18:41:41 +0000 (18 10:41 -0800)
tree60624f441bf5dbcc9379fbdf152df2782268d467
parent2f93541d88fadd1ff5307d81c2c8921ee3eea058
docs: add filter-branch notes on The BFG

The BFG is a tool specifically designed for the task of removing
unwanted data from Git repository history - a common use-case for which
git-filter-branch has been the traditional workhorse.

It's beneficial to let users know that filter-branch has an alternative
here:

* speed : The BFG is 10-50x faster
  http://rtyley.github.io/bfg-repo-cleaner/#speed
* complexity of configuration : filter-branch is a very flexible tool,
  but demands very careful usage in order to get the desired results
  http://rtyley.github.io/bfg-repo-cleaner/#examples

Obviously, filter-branch has it's advantages too - it permits very
complex rewrites, and doesn't require a JVM - but for the common
use-case of deleting unwanted data, it's helpful to users to be aware
that an alternative exists.

The BFG was released under the GPL in February 2013, and has since seen
widespread production use (The Guardian, RedHat, Google, UK Government
Digital Service), been tested against large repos (~300K commits, ~5GB
packfiles) and received significant positive feedback from users:

http://rtyley.github.io/bfg-repo-cleaner/#feedback

Signed-off-by: Roberto Tyley <roberto.tyley@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Documentation/git-filter-branch.txt