A not too common but practical use case is that you don't have to start 
over from scratch when you had prepared a batch of versions depending on 
each other requiring .mcm files between them, but someone pushed a 
different version of the same package before you started to upload yours.
With this tool, you can just load/merge, reparent and save each version 
one-by-one instead of filing out and reloading your changes.
You still have to do things to "fix it", but it's a lot less tedious with 
reparent.

So, +1 from me.

Levente

On Tue, 6 Nov 2018, David T. Lewis wrote:

> My use case is different.
>
> Package Chronology-Core is part of the trunk update stream. Separate from
> this, and hosted in a squeaksource.com repository for UTCDateAndTime, I
> have a sequence of Chronology-Core versions that ends with a version that
> I would like to be able to submit into the existing trunk stream.
>
> Both streams (Squeak trunk and SS UTCDateAndTime) are rooting in a common
> version Chronology-Core-cmm.2 of 3 March 2016. Both streams have progressed
> in parallel, and are (mostly) functionally equivalent.
>
> I was looking for a way to move the squeaksource.com update stream
> into trunk without disrupting the existing update stream. A possible
> solution is to re-save the squeaksource.com versions as versions named
> 'Chronology-Core.UTC-xxx.nn.mcz' rather than 'Chronology-Core-xxx.nn.mcz'.
>
> In order to do this, I loaded individual versions 'Chronology-Core-xxx.nn.mcz'
> from the squeaksource repository, then saved them as equivalent
> 'Chronology-Core.UTC-xxx.nn.mcz' versions in a local repository on my PC
> (that could later be copied to inbox or trunk if the experiment works).
>
> As part of this process, it was necessary for me to load from one
> repository, then save to another using the '.UTC' naming. In order for
> this to work, I needed to be able to reparent the new '.UTC' version to
> its immediate predecessor in the new repository. This retains the '.UTC'
> naming throughout the new repository version histary, and results in
> a sequence of 'Chronology-Core.UTC-xxx.nn.mcz' versions in the new
> repository that is equivalent to the original, but separate from the
> naming conventions of the Squeak trunk update stream.
>
> This is probably not a common use case ;-)
>
> Dave
>
>
> On Tue, Nov 06, 2018 at 02:12:19PM -0800, Bert Freudenberg wrote:
>> I can see that use case, but meddling with history / parentage is not the
>> right way to do it IMHO. (even the "adopt" button is questionable, except
>> in very limited circumstances) It's too easy to lose changes that way -
>> anything that happened in trunk up to this point from when you branched off
>> would be lost (or it would be the responsibility of the developer to make
>> sure this is not the case, which is way too fragile).
>> 
>> The "standard" way to do this is to do a "merge-and-squash" (standard as
>> in, accepted practice in other developer communities, e.g. "git merge
>> --squash").
>> 
>> This is like a merge (meaning it combines changes from both trunk and your
>> line of commits) but throws away all the intermediate commits, "squashing"
>> all the changes into one single merge commit. That means you can commit as
>> much and as often as you like, but when merging it into trunk, it is only
>> seen as one commit.
>> 
>> But let's ask David: what is your use case?
>> 
>> - Bert -
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Tue, Nov 6, 2018 at 10:37 AM Chris Muller <asqueaker at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> > You read my mind!  I didn't review or test it, but I was already
>> > thinking about this functionality to help us with Inbox submissions as
>> > well.
>> >
>> > What I would like to propose is that we feel the need to rapid-fire
>> > multiple versions into trunk, to do it into Inbox instead, and when we
>> > have the final one ready for trunk, adopt the top version in trunk as
>> > the sole parent so that we can see just the _true_ change from the
>> > prior version, without all the noise of the "interim" changes.
>> >
>> > I even think the user should be prompted to do so, but one step at a
>> > time...
>> >
>> > Best,
>> >   Chris
>> > On Mon, Nov 5, 2018 at 10:20 PM Eliot Miranda <eliot.miranda at gmail.com>
>> > wrote:
>> > >
>> > > Hi David, Hi All,
>> > > On Mon, Nov 5, 2018 at 7:53 PM <commits at source.squeak.org> wrote:
>> > >>
>> > >> David T. Lewis uploaded a new version of Monticello to project The
>> > Inbox:
>> > >> http://source.squeak.org/inbox/Monticello-dtl.685.mcz
>> > >>
>> > >> ==================== Summary ====================
>> > >>
>> > >> Name: Monticello-dtl.685
>> > >> Author: dtl
>> > >> Time: 5 November 2018, 10:52:58.748205 pm
>> > >> UUID: b31c1c5b-d61a-4810-8f97-5fdcaf062dc8
>> > >> Ancestors: Monticello-eem.684
>> > >>
>> > >> MCVersionInspector has an 'Adopt' button to allow the selected version
>> > to be added to the parent or parents of a working version. Provide a
>> > 'Reparent' button to allow a selected version to become the sole parent of
>> > a working version. Adjust defaultExtent to accomodate the additional button.
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > Nice.  It is for someone like Bert to review and accept this but this
>> > seems a very useful addition to me!
>> > >
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >> Motivated by the exercise of preparing to copy Chronology-Core versions
>> > from one repository into equivalent Chronology-Core.UTC versions in another
>> > repository (possibly trunk). In this scenario, it is helpful to be able to
>> > reparent a newly loaded Chronology-Core version from one repository to be
>> > the child of the last saved Chronology-Core.UTC version in another. The
>> > '.UTC' suffix in this case is intended to branch those versions from the
>> > trunk update stream, allowing later merge to trunk with branch history
>> > preserved.
>> > >>
>> > >> =============== Diff against Monticello-eem.684 ===============
>> > >>
>> > >> Item was changed:
>> > >>   ----- Method: MCRepositoryInspector>>defaultExtent (in category
>> > 'morphic ui') -----
>> > >>   defaultExtent
>> > >> +       ^600 at 300!
>> > >> -       ^450 at 300!
>> > >>
>> > >> Item was added:
>> > >> + ----- Method: MCVersion>>reparent (in category 'actions') -----
>> > >> + reparent
>> > >> +       "Let aNode be the sole parent of this version"
>> > >> +       self workingCopy reparent: self!
>> > >>
>> > >> Item was changed:
>> > >>   ----- Method: MCVersionInspector>>buttonSpecs (in category 'morphic
>> > ui') -----
>> > >>   buttonSpecs
>> > >> +       ^#(
>> > >> +               ('Refresh' refresh 'refresh the version-list')
>> > >> -        ^ #(('Refresh' refresh 'refresh the version-list')
>> > >>                 (Browse browse 'Browse this version' hasVersion)
>> > >> +               (History history 'Browse the history of this version'
>> > hasVersion)
>> > >> +               (Changes changes 'Browse the changes this version would
>> > make to the image' hasVersion)
>> > >> +               (Load load 'Load this version into the image'
>> > hasVersion)
>> > >> +               (Merge merge 'Merge this version into the image'
>> > hasVersion)
>> > >> +               (Adopt adopt 'Adopt this version as an ancestor of your
>> > working copy' hasVersion)
>> > >> +               (Reparent reparent 'Adopt this version as the sole
>> > ancestor of your working copy' hasVersion)
>> > >> +               (Copy save 'Copy this version to another repository'
>> > hasVersion)
>> > >> +               (Diff diff 'Create an equivalent version based on an
>> > earlier release' hasVersion)
>> > >> +       )!
>> > >> -                (History history 'Browse the history of this version'
>> > hasVersion)
>> > >> -                (Changes changes 'Browse the changes this version
>> > would make to the
>> > >> - image' hasVersion)
>> > >> -                (Load load 'Load this version into the image'
>> > hasVersion)
>> > >> -                (Merge merge 'Merge this version into the image'
>> > hasVersion)
>> > >> -                (Adopt adopt 'Adopt this version as an ancestor of
>> > your working copy'
>> > >> - hasVersion)
>> > >> -                (Copy save 'Copy this version to another repository'
>> > hasVersion)
>> > >> -                (Diff diff 'Create an equivalent version based on an
>> > earlier release'
>> > >> - hasVersion))!
>> > >>
>> > >> Item was added:
>> > >> + ----- Method: MCVersionInspector>>reparent (in category 'accessing')
>> > -----
>> > >> + reparent
>> > >> +       (self confirm:'Adopt ',self version info name, ' as the sole
>> > ancestor of your working copy?')
>> > >> +               ifTrue: [self version reparent]!
>> > >>
>> > >> Item was added:
>> > >> + ----- Method: MCWorkingAncestry>>reparent: (in category 'as yet
>> > unclassified') -----
>> > >> + reparent: aNode
>> > >> +       "Let aNode be the sole parent of this version"
>> > >> +       ancestors := Array with: aNode
>> > >> + !
>> > >>
>> > >> Item was added:
>> > >> + ----- Method: MCWorkingCopy>>reparent: (in category 'operations')
>> > -----
>> > >> + reparent: aVersion
>> > >> +       "Let aNode be the sole parent of this version"
>> > >> +       ancestry reparent: aVersion info.
>> > >> +       self changed.!
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > --
>> > > _,,,^..^,,,_
>> > > best, Eliot
>> > >
>> >
>> >
>
>>