Re: adding on branch

[Max Bowsher]

Paul Edwards wrote:
> "Max Bowsher" <maxb@ukf.net> wrote in message
>> Except the natural behaviour of an import is to add revisions to the
vendor
>> branch, and create a head revision to start from *if and only if* one
does
>> not exist already. If there is *any* existing head development,
>
> But that's the whole point - there is no existing head development.
> All there is is a user mucking around on his own branch, which is
> what people with their own branch tend to do.  A user mucking
> around on his branch should not interfere with what is essentially
> "production processing".

Adding a file on a branch *MUST* (due to the nature of the RCS file format)
add a head revision. Since the head revision is simply a placeholder, it is
marked dead.

Likewise, importing a new file *MUST* (again, due to the RCS file format)
add a head revision.
Since the normal case is to develop from here, this revision is live.

>> import
>> simply shows a conflict, and expects you to do a merge.
>
> I don't mind the conflict.  But I won't notice it either way.  There
> entire source tree shows up as a conflict whenever I do an
> import, because almost every single file exists, and has half a
> dozen branches on it.
>
> I do mind having to do a merge to get the head made active.
> I didn't even realise I could do that.  I thought I needed to
> manually move it out of the Attic to get a head "created"?

Manually muck around in the repository? Why does the internal structure of
the repository bother you so much?

> I don't want to manually merge all these files anyway, I want
> to be able to say "yes, yes, yes, all those imported files, make
> them active, regardless of what some tinpot branch owner
> has been up to".

CVS has no such command, because that's not what import is intended to do.

>> The rule is simple: "head is dead" == "in Attic".
>> The fact that 2 files came from the same import is irrelevant.
>
> I think existing behaviour is illogical, and requires manual
> processing for no reason.

The existing behaviour is quite logical. It only seems odd to you because:

1) You are using import in a way it was not designed for.
2) You care a lot about how the internal structure of the repository looks
like.

I don't understand why (for both of the above).


Max.