Allow Git to work at Insane Bank Corp

Oh what a day I've had. Today Insane Bank Corp (my day-job employer) upgraded their Windows desktop encryption software. *Every* directory on every computer is now blessed with a "Desktop.ini" file. Git of course loves this concept:

 $ git for-each-ref >/dev/null && echo yes
 error: refs/Desktop.ini points nowhere!
 error: refs/heads/Desktop.ini points nowhere!
 yes

Fortunately for-each-ref allows corrupt refs to exist in the ref namespace. So until Git is properly patched we are at least able to ignore these error messages.

For corporate security reasons it is obviously absolutely vital that these Desktop.ini files exist in every directory of every system. Even if application software scans all files in a particular directory and assumes those files belong to it. If these files did not exist it would not be possible for Insane Bank Corp to protect its customer's data, which of course must be toted around on $1000 laptops in the posession of any employee who asks for one.

Because Insane Bank Corp is one of the largest banks in the world all 3rd party software vendors must comply and correct their applications to not fail when they encounter Desktop.ini in an application's internal data directory. Or they will lose their contract with Insane Bank Corp.

This patch must be applied to Git, since Git is a 3rd party software product and its global assets are much smaller than those of Insane Bank Corp. If not applied Git won't be permitted for use. Git could lose all of its software licenses and support contracts. Git shall do as Insane Bank Corp requests.

Never-Shall-Be-Signed-Off-By: me

---

</rant off>

Seriously, this patch shouldn't ever be made to Git. I'll likely have to carry it in my own local build process until the end of time.

Our corporate security goons are unable to fathom why having "Desktop.ini" shoved into every directory of every filesystem may cause problems for some applications. Especially those who may attempt to read every file in a given directory.

Just thought folks would like to see what sort of bulls**t patches internal developers need to create for systems because they are unable to rely upon the operating system they are forced to rely upon for "security reasons". Yes, really, Insane Bank Corp feels that Microsoft Windows Xtreme Professional is more trustworthy than RedHat Linux. Especially when toted in someone's backpack. Just so long as Desktop.ini is in every directory we're safe.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

</rant really is now off>

 git-compat-util.h |   13 +++++++++++++
 1 files changed, 13 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)

index ca0a597..ca875c7 100644
@@ -172,6 +172,19 @@ extern uintmax_t gitstrtoumax(const char *, char **, int);
 extern const char *githstrerror(int herror);
 #endif
 
+#ifdef WORK_FOR_INSANE_BANK_CORP
+static inline struct dirent *gitreaddir(DIR *dirp)
+{
+	struct dirent *r;
+	while ((r = readdir(dirp))) {
+		if (!strcasecmp(r->d_name, "Desktop.ini"))
+			continue;
+	}
+	return r;
+}
+#define readdir gitreaddir
+#endif
+
 extern void release_pack_memory(size_t, int);
 
 static inline char* xstrdup(const char *str)

1.5.3.5.1728.g34b3e

Can't you just load a root kit^w^wsystem extension that hides such files from any
and all application?

Morten

.gitignore? ... ducks ... then comes back.

Hi,

This makes sense, absolutely.

Never-To-Be-Acked-By: me.

But seriously, some things like these should make it possible for one of the fastest SCMs in the world (both in performance and in development) to get some serious contracts.

I mean, how does svn cope with something like that?

Ciao,
Dscho

Well, see, you can't actually use Git at Insane Bank Corp because it wasn't put on the approved list of software. Furthermore if it was put on that list it would probably only ever be approved for use on RedHat Linux, as on Windows there is Microsoft Visual Source Suck and on Solaris there is Rational ConfusingCase. All provide the same function and therefore are exactly suitable for those platforms.

Any deviants get Desktop.ini files where they don't want them.

Keep in mind that Insane Bank Corp has approved the following OS and database combinations, as they are all the same thing. Any mixing/matching is not permitted:

OS Database
------------------------------

  Windows    Microsoft SQL Server
  Solaris    Oracle
  AIX        IBM DB2
  Linux      MySQL

Because you can do anything that Oracle does with MySQL if Linux is your OS. Didn't you know that MySQL understands all of Oracle's extended SQL syntax? Silly developers. :-)

SVN probably doesn't care. As in SVN probably only scans the working directory, which you can tell it to ignore Desktop.ini files in. When it looks at the SVN/ metadata directory in a checkout it probably knows exactly what files its going after. Extra files don't matter to it.

In the fsfs and bdb backends SVN is probably again only going after known filenames. So it probably isn't impacted by extra crap shoved into the directory.

I'm waiting for the next release of the desktop security software, the one that adds an extra 1M binary header to the front of every one of Java source files, because that's the only way they can protect the data that never should have been on a portable computing device in the first place.

I can't wait for Java 6 update 4 Special Edition for Insane Bank Corp version to be rolled out to ignore those headers. Or for the Eclipse 3.3.1.1.1 release which will also ignore those headers.

Shawn.