RE: cvs -n update vs cvs diff

[Greg A. Woods]

[ On Tuesday, October 22, 2002 at 16:17:25 (+0100), Kris Thielemans wrote: ]
> Subject: RE: cvs -n update vs cvs diff
>
> > By default, diff compares against the version you checked out.  If you
> > want to compare against the top of the tree, you have to specify -r
> > HEAD.
> 
> this has given me some problems before. I think it would be helpful for a
> lot of users to make this *very* explicit in the usage message output by
> 'cvs diff --help' (and of course in the manual).

That would more properly be "cvs -H diff", btw, as per the message from
"cvs -?":

    (specify -H followed by a command name for command-specific help)

That would suggest then that your users are working under some nearly
fundamental misconceptions about how a working directory is used and how
the status of the files within it can be determined.  I don't think
adding more info to the usage message would help override their
misconceptions.  You'll have to fix this problem at its root.

It may also suggest that your users are not really very aware of what
the rest of their team might be doing too, and that's another problem
best solved at the root where it starts....  :-)

-- 
                                                                Greg A. Woods

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