Re: rev/branch?

[Mark D. Baushke]

Ronald Petty <address@hidden> writes:

> Thank you Larry,
> The reason I ask is, if it follows the documentation in the manual then
> why would you need the next or branch fields? Since it is set that the
> branch will use the next even number and to rebuild uses the algorithm
> you told me the other day (follow head to the branch point then follow
> out the branch).

Your question is not very clear to me (nor was the previous question).
The list of deltas in a standard RCS file need not be contiguous.

> And you have all this information in the requested num?  Am I being over
> zealous here?

It is possible that someone has done a 'cvs admin -ow.x.y.z foo.c' which
would mean that the versions of what is next would be different than
might otherwise be expected. So, if you are asking if version number
discontinuities may arise, the answer is yes. This is why you should
follow the next pointers on the version tree.

A cvs magic branch uses the form 1.x.0.<even digit> to avoid needing to
create a new delta for a branch that may not need to be created. The
selection of the <even digit> for a tag may be influenced by the
CVS_LOCAL_BRANCH_NUM feature, or may have been influenced by a user
adding a tag using 'cvs admin -N tag:rev'

Another anomaly that must be handled is when someone commits using an
explicit cvs version number. Yes, folks should not do it, but the
facility exists because the RCS files allowed for the facility.
 
For example, how would you find the predecessor version to version 2.1 ?

> Thanks
> Ron
> 
> On Sat, 2003-04-12 at 22:22, Larry Jones wrote:
> > Ronald Petty writes:
> > > 
> > > If someone changes a number, will cvs still be able to recreate the
> > > revision?  If so does that mean a branch number if changed is still
> > > going to be ....2.revision_number?

I do not understand your question. Renumbering revisions is not a
feature that presently exists. The standard cvs commands allow you to
add a version number on a branch (eg, 1.x.2.<new>) as well as to remove
(via cvs admin) a particular version. It is strongly suggested that
administrators and users do NOT remove a version from the repository.

If someone has removed a revision, cvs will still be possible to
recreate the predecessor, but will need to closely follow the delta
trail in the RCS file.

> > Neither RCS nor CVS provide any mechanism for changing revision numbers
> > as far as I know.
> > 
> > > Or instead of wondering what the numbers are, should I always parse
> > > "next {num}" and follow it?
> > 
> > Yes, you must parse and follow next (or branches).

Agreed.

> > -Larry Jones

        Enjoy!
        -- Mark