Re: CVS, RCS, System Files

[Pierre Asselin]

Call, Wayne <address@hidden> wrote:

> Is it feasible to have both CVS and RCS on the same computer?

Yes, it is routine.  You can even use RCS and CVS at the same time
on the same project, they will mostly ignore one another.


> I would like to control the source code files for various projects
> using CVS, and control the system files, such as files in the /etc
> directory, using RCS.

I maintain my system files through RCS all the time.  What I do is
create a directory, populate it with symbolic links to the system
files, and RCS-manage the symbolic links.

    # mkdir configuration
    # cd configuration
    # ln -s /etc/hosts .        # for example
    # mkdir RCS
    # ci -t-/etc/hosts hosts
    # rcs -ko hosts             # in case there are RCS keywords in it
    # co -l hosts               # ./hosts is now a copy
    # ln -fs /etc/hosts .       # ./hosts is now a symbolic link again
    #
    # vi hosts                  # make changes ...
    # ci -l hosts               # ... and preserve the history

RCS knows how to follow symbolic links.  Note that CVS doesn't (by
design) so you couldn't use it that way.  The little chore of setting
the '-ko' flag and creating the link a second time is to make sure
that 'ci -l' doesn't try to rewrite the file in order to expand
keywords like "$Id$".  If it did, it would also break the link.


> The CVS is used to archive the source code files, and the RCS [if
> it works with CVS] is used to archive the system files on a file
> per file basis.  Will the CVS work together with the RCS?

As I said, they work together just fine.  Your case is even simpler,
because you want to use them separately.

-- 
pa at panix dot com