[Top][All Lists]
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: Need vc-make-backup-files-when-linked
From: |
Miles Bader |
Subject: |
Re: Need vc-make-backup-files-when-linked |
Date: |
Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:59:43 +0900 |
Neal Becker <address@hidden> writes:
> It is commonly recommended to use cp -al to make local clones when using
> mercurial. emacs will not break the hard links when files are edited,
> because vc-make-backup-files is usually nil.
I think the default setting of `vc-make-backup-files' (nil) is quite
dangerous for another reason too: backup files and commits often do not
have the same granularity, and if a user happens to edit for a long
period of time before committing, there's a good chance they'll get
screwed.
This is especially true with source-control systems like CVS or
Subversion that do not allow cheap/undoable local commits, but even for
more modern systems, I don't think Emacs should be making such a
dangerous assumptions (that they commit often, and so do not need Emacs
backup files) about the users' work habits.
Even in the case where a user has commited some changes, I don't think
one can simply assume that the repository contents obviates the need for
backup files -- for instance, I've grovelled through old emacs backup
files trying to find some changes I had made a few days, but erased
before commiting...
-Miles
--
The car has become... an article of dress without which we feel uncertain,
unclad, and incomplete. [Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media, 1964]