source control panel: differentiate from Git more

[jorgeorpinel]

The DVC panel in the SC view looks a LOT like Git's.

Ah, the olden "DVC is not Git" rant.

Regardless of whether we intend or not to make it look like "(almost) the same thing but for data" visually (do we?), to me it's just hard to tell where one panel ends and the other one starts.

[mattseddon]

The API that we have to use to display anything inside of the SCM view is pretty limited. It is intentionally set up by VS Code for everything to have a similar look and feel. Granted this does take some getting used to.

This could also be because I use VS Code a lot and always use the SCM view to see where I'm at in terms of the current commit, but to me, it is obvious where the Git tree ends and where the DVC one starts. I have highlighted the differences that I use/see from your picture:

The biggest difference is that the Git tree has a big commit message box at the top of the tree. I used to use this a lot before switching completely back to the command line.

The next difference is the tree name: Git vs DVC.

And the final one is the difference in icons at the top of each tree.

We have purposefully matched the file decorations so as to integrate with the Git extension. IIRC this is because:

1. We want to make it easier for existing VS Code users to understand the statuses that each file is in.
2. We want to start to push the fact that data is a first-class citizen and should be treated as such.
3. We don't have an option to integrate directly into the Git tree.

[shcheklein]

Let's close this for now, this will depend on the users feedback going forward

[mattseddon]

Further reading on SCM: #772

[jorgeorpinel]

to me, it is obvious where the Git tree ends and where the DVC one starts

I'm pretty sure it won't be obvious to most users, especially at first. But anyway, sounds like we're somewhat limited by the VS Code API.

We have purposefully matched the file decorations so as to integrate with the Git extension.

Perhaps this is where the design could differentiate itself if users do in fact get lost here. We shall see!