Ok, so this is an edge case, I am looking to use a repository for shared edited files. The problem I am having is that, while text files, we cannot merge them due to a dumb fingerprint protection which would not allow the file to be opened if we were to merge things.
so we plan on treating it as a binary file.
Our plan is that whenever someone wanted to work on the files they would have to "check-out" the files to make sure no one else is going to edit the files and waste their time since they might have to re-do the changes that someone else had.
Is there a way we can use a repository like GIT to force all files as read-only until they are checked out, or warn the user that the file is checked out and that any changes would need to be re-done?
What work flow would you use for something like this, I would like a more automated process instead of just asking people to "check-out" a file to lock it, even then the local files of people who haven't checked if it were locked could be wasting their time.