RE: CVS - setup reserved checkout

[Paul Sander]

One would hope that one's shop is not using the same branch for both
maintenance and new features.  That kind of thing is best done on
separate branches (where the two schedules don't interfere with each
other).  The bug fix is later merged into the new development when
it's appropriate to do so.

Under those conditions, almost any version control tool provides the
necessary merge tool.  And locks don't matter because there's no
concurrent development on the same branch.

'Course, it's a different story if multiple developers are adding
their own bug fixes or features on either branch...

>--- Forwarded mail from address@hidden

>In my experience, with some sort of locking developers waste
>time doing merging by hand.  Developer A is adding a feature,
>and a bug report comes in from the field so developer B is
>assigned to fix it.  B is now trying to hurry A up so she
>checks in and releases the lock, which means that A is likely
>to skimp on unimportant things like testing.  Assuming B has
>not simply been playing 5,235 games of Minesweeper while waiting,
>B has likely figured out how to fix the bug, and then finds that
>A has modified that section and so he has to redo the bugfix.
>(Of course, if A did not modify that section, CVS would work
>just fine.)  Alternatively, management yanks the lock away from
>A and gives it to B, who fixes the bug and checks in, and A now
>has to do the manual merging.

>--- End of forwarded message from address@hidden