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CVS(1)                               General Commands Manual                               CVS(1)

NAME
       cvs - Concurrent Versions System

SYNOPSIS
       cvs [ cvs_options ]
              cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]

NOTE
       This  manual  page is a summary of parts of the cvs documentation and automatically gener-
       ated from an appendix of the CVS manual (the Cederqvist), which is also the target of  all
       cross-references  found  in this manual page; please refer to the full CVS manual for more
       in-depth documentation of the Concurrent Versions System.

       If you're reading this manual page as part of the MirBSD online (HTML)  manual  pages  ar-
       chive,  follow  the  cvs(GNU)  link  to the Cederqvist (and the cvsclient(GNU) link to the
       client/server protocol description, if necessary).

       If you installed cvs via the Debian or MirPorts Framework package management systems,
              /usr/mpkg/share/doc/cvs/cvs.pdf (MirPorts Framework) or
              /usr/share/doc/cvs/cvs.pdf (Debian), respectively,
       are versions of the Cederqvist rendered as books, for printing and reading on screen.

       If you have a Texinfo reader such as info installed (part of the base  system  on  MirBSD;
       part of the info package on Debian), you can read the Cederqvist by entering:
              info cvs

       Quick introduction to info so you aren't immediately lost:

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           p, n
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           /<search-term>Return
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           /Return
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           q  to exit the info viewer

       Other ways to read further documentation are described in the  SEE ALSO  section  of  this
       manual page.

CVS commands
   Guide to CVS commands
       This appendix describes the overall structure of cvs commands, and describes some commands
       in detail (others are described elsewhere; for a quick reference to cvs commands, see node
       'Invoking  CVS'  in  the CVS manual, and for an alphabetical list of all cvs commands, see
       node 'CVS command list' in the CVS manual).

Structure
   Overall structure of CVS commands
       The overall format of all cvs commands is:

         cvs [ cvs_options ] cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]

       cvs

         The name of the cvs program.

       cvs_options

         Some options that affect all sub-commands of cvs.  These are described below.

       cvs_command

         One of several different sub-commands.  Some of the commands have aliases  that  can  be
         used  instead;  those aliases are noted in the reference manual for that command.  There
         are only two situations where you may omit cvs_command: cvs -H elicits a list of  avail-
         able commands, and cvs -v displays version information on cvs itself.

       command_options

         Options that are specific for the command.

       command_args

         Arguments to the commands.

         There  is  unfortunately  some  confusion between cvs_options and command_options.  When
         given as a cvs_option, some options only affect some of the commands.  When given  as  a
         command_option  it  may  have a different meaning, and be accepted by more commands.  In
         other words, do not take the above categorization too seriously.  Look at the documenta-
         tion instead.

Exit status
   CVS's exit status
       cvs  can indicate to the calling environment whether it succeeded or failed by setting its
       exit status.  The exact way of testing the exit status will vary from one operating system
       to another.  For example in a unix shell script the $? variable will be 0 if the last com-
       mand returned a successful exit status, or greater than 0 if  the  exit  status  indicated
       failure.

       If  cvs  is successful, it returns a successful status; if there is an error, it prints an
       error message and returns a failure status.  The one exception to this  is  the  cvs  diff
       command.  It will return a successful status if it found no differences, or a failure sta-
       tus if there were differences or if there was an error.  Because this behavior provides no
       good  way  to detect errors, in the future it is possible that cvs diff will be changed to
       behave like the other cvs commands.

~/.cvsrc
   Default options and the ~/.cvsrc file
       There are some command_options that are used so often that you might have set up an  alias
       or  some  other  means  to make sure you always specify that option.  One example (the one
       that drove the implementation of the .cvsrc support, actually) is that  many  people  find
       the  default  output  of the diff command to be very hard to read, and that either context
       diffs or unidiffs are much easier to understand.

       The ~/.cvsrc file is a way that you can add default options to  cvs_commands  within  cvs,
       instead of relying on aliases or other shell scripts.

       The  format  of  the ~/.cvsrc file is simple.  The file is searched for a line that begins
       with the same name as the cvs_command being executed.  If a match is found, then  the  re-
       mainder of the line is split up (at whitespace characters) into separate options and added
       to the command arguments before any options from the command line.

       If a command has two names (e.g., checkout and co), the official name, not necessarily the
       one  used  on the command line, will be used to match against the file.  So if this is the
       contents of the user's ~/.cvsrc file:

         log -N
         diff -uN
         rdiff -u
         update -Pd
         checkout -P
         release -d

       the command cvs checkout foo would have the -P option added to the arguments, as  well  as
       cvs co foo.

       With  the  example  file above, the output from cvs diff foobar will be in unidiff format.
       cvs diff -c foobar will provide context diffs, as usual.  Getting "old" format diffs would
       be  slightly  more  complicated, because diff doesn't have an option to specify use of the
       "old" format, so you would need cvs -f diff foobar.

       In place of the command name you can use cvs to specify global options (see  node  'Global
       options' in the CVS manual).  For example the following line in .cvsrc

         cvs -z6

       causes cvs to use compression level 6.

Global options
       The available cvs_options (that are given to the left of cvs_command) are:

       --allow-root=rootdir

         May  be  invoked multiple times to specify one legal cvsroot directory with each invoca-
         tion.  Also causes CVS to preparse the configuration file for each specified root, which
         can be useful when configuring write proxies,  See node 'Password authentication server'
         in the CVS manual & node 'Write proxies' in the CVS manual.

       -a

         Authenticate all communication between the client and the server.  Only has an effect on
         the  cvs  client.  As of this writing, this is only implemented when using a GSSAPI con-
         nection (see node 'GSSAPI authenticated' in the CVS  manual).   Authentication  prevents
         certain  sorts  of  attacks involving hijacking the active tcp connection.  Enabling au-
         thentication does not enable encryption.

       -b bindir

         In cvs 1.9.18 and older, this specified that rcs programs are in the  bindir  directory.
         Current  versions  of  cvs do not run rcs programs; for compatibility this option is ac-
         cepted, but it does nothing.

       -T tempdir

         Use tempdir as the directory where temporary files are located.

         The cvs client and server store temporary files in a temporary directory.  The  path  to
         this temporary directory is set via, in order of precedence:

       o   The argument to the global -T option.

       o   The  value  set  for TmpDir in the config file (server only - see node 'config' in the
           CVS manual).

       o   The contents of the $TMPDIR environment variable (%TMPDIR% on Windows - see node  'En-
           vironment variables' in the CVS manual).

       o   /tmp

           Temporary  directories  should always be specified as an absolute pathname.  When run-
           ning a CVS client, -T affects only the local process; specifying -T for the client has
           no effect on the server and vice versa.

       -d cvs_root_directory

         Use  cvs_root_directory as the root directory pathname of the repository.  Overrides the
         setting of the $CVSROOT environment variable.  See node 'Repository' in the CVS manual.

       -e editor

         Use editor to enter revision log information.  Overrides the setting of  the  $CVSEDITOR
         and  $EDITOR  environment  variables.   For  more information, see node 'Committing your
         changes' in the CVS manual.

       -f

         Do not read the ~/.cvsrc file.  This option is most often used because  of  the  non-or-
         thogonality of the cvs option set.  For example, the cvs log option -N (turn off display
         of tag names) does not have a corresponding option to turn the display on.   So  if  you
         have -N in the ~/.cvsrc entry for log, you may need to use -f to show the tag names.

       -g

         Forges  group-writable  permissions  on files in the working copy.  This option is typi-
         cally used when you have multiple users sharing a single checked out source tree, allow-
         ing them to operate their shells with a less dangerous umask at the expense of cvs secu-
         rity.  To use this feature, create a directory to hold the checked-out source tree,  set
         it to a private group, and set up the directory such that files created under it inherit
         the gid of the directory.  On BSD systems, this occurs automatically.  On  SYSV  systems
         and GNU/Linux, the sgid bit must be set on the directory for this.  The users who are to
         share the checked out tree must be placed in that group which owns the directory.

         Note that the sharing of a single checked-out source tree is very different from  giving
         several  users access to a common cvs repository.  Access to a common cvs repository al-
         ready maintains shared group-write permissions and does not require this option.

         Due to the security implications, setting this option globally in your  .cvsrc  file  is
         strongly discouraged; if you must, ensure all source checkouts are "firewalled" within a
         private group or a private mode 0700 directory.

         This option is a MidnightBSD extension merged into Debian and MirBSD cvs.

       -H

       --help

         Display usage information about the specified cvs_command (but do not  actually  execute
         the  command).   If  you  don't specify a command name, cvs -H displays overall help for
         cvs, including a list of other help options.

       -R

         Turns on read-only repository mode.  This allows one  to  check  out  from  a  read-only
         repository, such as within an anoncvs server, or from a cd-rom repository.

         Same  effect as if the CVSREADONLYFS environment variable is set. Using -R can also con-
         siderably speed up checkouts over NFS.

       -n

         Do not change any files.  Attempt to execute the cvs_command, but only to issue reports;
         do not remove, update, or merge any existing files, or create any new files.

         Note  that  cvs  will not necessarily produce exactly the same output as without -n.  In
         some cases the output will be the same, but in other cases cvs will  skip  some  of  the
         processing that would have been required to produce the exact same output.

       -Q

         Cause  the command to be really quiet; the command will only generate output for serious
         problems.

       -q

         Cause the command to be somewhat quiet; informational messages, such as reports  of  re-
         cursion through subdirectories, are suppressed.

       -r

         Make  new  working files read-only.  Same effect as if the $CVSREAD environment variable
         is set (see node 'Environment variables' in the CVS manual).  The  default  is  to  make
         working files writable, unless watches are on (see node 'Watches' in the CVS manual).

       -s variable=value

         Set a user variable (see node 'Variables' in the CVS manual).

       -t

         Trace  program  execution; display messages showing the steps of cvs activity.  Particu-
         larly useful with -n to explore the potential impact of an unfamiliar command.

       -v

       --version

         Display version and copyright information for cvs.

       -w

         Make new working files read-write.  Overrides the setting of  the  $CVSREAD  environment
         variable.   Files  are  created  read-write  by default, unless $CVSREAD is set or -r is
         given.

       -x

         Encrypt all communication between the client and the server.  Only has an effect on  the
         cvs client.  As of this writing, this is only implemented when using a GSSAPI connection
         (see node 'GSSAPI authenticated' in the CVS manual) or a Kerberos connection  (see  node
         'Kerberos  authenticated'  in the CVS manual).  Enabling encryption implies that message
         traffic is also authenticated.  Encryption support is not available by default; it  must
         be enabled using a special configure option, --enable-encryption, when you build cvs.

       -z level

         Request  compression level for network traffic.  cvs interprets level identically to the
         gzip program.  Valid levels are 1 (high speed, low compression) to 9  (low  speed,  high
         compression),  or  0 to disable compression (the default).  Data sent to the server will
         be compressed at the requested level and the client will request the server use the same
         compression  level  for data returned.  The server will use the closest level allowed by
         the server administrator to compress returned data.  This option only has an effect when
         passed to the cvs client.

Common options
   Common command options
       This section describes the command_options that are available across several cvs commands.
       These options are always given to the right of cvs_command. Not all commands  support  all
       of  these  options; each option is only supported for commands where it makes sense.  How-
       ever, when a command has one of these options you can almost always count on the same  be-
       havior  of the option as in other commands.  (Other command options, which are listed with
       the individual commands, may have different behavior from one cvs command to the other).

       Note: the history command is an exception; it supports many  options  that  conflict  even
       with these standard options.

       -D date_spec

         Use the most recent revision no later than date_spec.  date_spec is a single argument, a
         date description specifying a date in the past.

         The specification is sticky when you use it to make a private copy  of  a  source  file;
         that  is,  when  you get a working file using -D, cvs records the date you specified, so
         that further updates in the same directory will use the same date (for more  information
         on sticky tags/dates, see node 'Sticky tags' in the CVS manual).

         -D  is  available  with  the  annotate, checkout, diff, export, history, ls, rdiff, rls,
         rtag, tag, and update commands.  (The history command uses this  option  in  a  slightly
         different way; see node 'history options' in the CVS manual).

         For  a  complete  description  of the date formats accepted by cvs, see node 'Date input
         formats' in the CVS manual.

         Remember to quote the argument to the -D flag so that your shell doesn't interpret  spa-
         ces as argument separators.  A command using the -D flag can look like this:

           $ cvs diff -D "1 hour ago" cvs.texinfo

       -f

         When  you  specify  a particular date or tag to cvs commands, they normally ignore files
         that do not contain the tag (or did not exist prior to the  date)  that  you  specified.
         Use the -f option if you want files retrieved even when there is no match for the tag or
         date.  (The most recent revision of the file will be used).

         Note that even with -f, a tag that you specify must exist (that is, in  some  file,  not
         necessary  in  every  file).   This is so that cvs will continue to give an error if you
         mistype a tag name.

         -f is available with these commands: annotate, checkout, export, rdiff,  rtag,  and  up-
         date.

         WARNING:   The  commit and remove commands also have a -f option, but it has a different
         behavior for those commands.  See node 'commit options' in the CVS manual, and node 'Re-
         moving files' in the CVS manual.

       -k kflag

         Override  the default processing of RCS keywords other than -kb.  See node 'Keyword sub-
         stitution' in the CVS manual, for the meaning of kflag.  Used with the checkout and  up-
         date  commands,  your  kflag  specification is sticky; that is, when you use this option
         with a checkout or update command, cvs associates your selected kflag with any files  it
         operates  on, and continues to use that kflag with future commands on the same files un-
         til you specify otherwise.

         The -k option is available with the add, checkout, diff, export, import, rdiff, and  up-
         date commands.

         WARNING:  Prior to CVS version 1.12.2, the -k flag overrode the -kb indication for a bi-
         nary file.  This could sometimes corrupt binary files.  See node 'Merging and  keywords'
         in the CVS manual, for more.

       -l

         Local;  run only in current working directory, rather than recursing through subdirecto-
         ries.

         Available with the following commands: annotate, checkout, commit, diff, edit,  editors,
         export, log, rdiff, remove, rtag, status, tag, unedit, update, watch, and watchers.

       -m message

         Use message as log information, instead of invoking an editor.

         Available with the following commands: add, commit and import.

       -n

         Do  not run any tag program.  (A program can be specified to run in the modules database
         (see node 'modules' in the CVS manual); this option bypasses it).

         Note: this is not the same as the cvs -n program option, which you can  specify  to  the
         left of a cvs command!

         Available with the checkout, commit, export, and rtag commands.

       -P

         Prune empty directories.  See node 'Removing directories' in the CVS manual.

       -p

         Pipe  the  files  retrieved  from the repository to standard output, rather than writing
         them in the current directory.  Available with the checkout and update commands.

       -R

         Process directories recursively.  This is the default for all cvs commands, with the ex-
         ception of ls & rls.

         Available  with the following commands: annotate, checkout, commit, diff, edit, editors,
         export, ls, rdiff, remove, rls, rtag, status, tag, unedit, update, watch, and watchers.

       -r tag

       -r tag[:date]

         Use the revision specified by the tag argument (and the date argument for  the  commands
         which  accept  it)  instead of the default head revision.  As well as arbitrary tags de-
         fined with the tag or rtag command, two special tags are always available:  HEAD  refers
         to  the  most  recent  version available in the repository (also known as the tip of the
         MAIN branch, also known as trunk; the name of a branch refers to its tip;  this  version
         of  cvs introduces .bhead, but only for the diff command, for the same), and BASE refers
         to the revision you last checked out into the current working directory.

         The tag specification is sticky when you use this with checkout or update to  make  your
         own  copy of a file: cvs remembers the tag and continues to use it on future update com-
         mands, until you specify otherwise (for more information on sticky tags/dates, see  node
         'Sticky tags' in the CVS manual).

         The  tag can be either a symbolic or numeric tag, as described in node 'Tags' in the CVS
         manual, or the name of a branch, as described in node 'Branching and merging' in the CVS
         manual.   When tag is the name of a branch, some commands accept the optional date argu-
         ment to specify the revision as of the given date on the branch.  When a command expects
         a  specific revision, the name of a branch is interpreted as the most recent revision on
         that branch.

         As a Debian and MirBSD cvs extension, specifying BASE as the date portion of  the  argu-
         ment  yields  the  base revision of the branch specified by the tag portion of the argu-
         ment, i.e. the revision on the parent branch the tag branch split off,  or,  where  both
         branches were the same.  This option has not received very much testing, beware!

         Specifying  the  -q  global  option along with the -r command option is often useful, to
         suppress the warning messages when the rcs file does not contain the specified tag.

         Note: this is not the same as the overall cvs -r option, which you can  specify  to  the
         left of a cvs command!

         -r tag is available with the commit and history commands.

         -r  tag[:date]  is available with the annotate, checkout, diff, export, rdiff, rtag, and
         update commands.

       -W

         Specify file names that should be filtered.  You can use this  option  repeatedly.   The
         spec  can  be a file name pattern of the same type that you can specify in the .cvswrap-
         pers file.  Available with the following commands: import, and update.

admin, annotate, Date input formats, CVS commands
   admin--Administration front-end for RCS
       o Requires: repository, working directory.

       o Changes: repository.

       o Synonym: rcs

         This is the cvs interface to assorted administrative  facilities.   Some  of  them  have
         questionable  usefulness  for  cvs but exist for historical purposes.  Some of the ques-
         tionable options are likely to disappear in the future.  This command does  work  recur-
         sively, so extreme care should be used.

         On  unix, if there is a group named cvsadmin, only members of that group can run cvs ad-
         min commands, except for those specified using the UserAdminOptions configuration option
         in  the CVSROOT/config file.  Options specified using UserAdminOptions can be run by any
         user.  See node 'config' in the CVS manual for more on UserAdminOptions.

         The  cvsadmin  group  should  exist  on  the  server,  or   any   system   running   the
         non-client/server  cvs.   To  disallow  cvs  admin for all users, create a group with no
         users in it.  On NT, the cvsadmin feature does not exist and all users can run  cvs  ad-
         min.

admin options
       Some  of  these options have questionable usefulness for cvs but exist for historical pur-
       poses.  Some even make it impossible to use cvs until you undo the effect!

       -Aoldfile

         Might not work together with cvs.  Append the access list of oldfile to the access  list
         of the rcs file.

       -alogins

         Might  not  work together with cvs.  Append the login names appearing in the comma-sepa-
         rated list logins to the access list of the rcs file.

       -b[rev]

         Set the default branch to rev.  In cvs, you normally do not manipulate default branches;
         sticky  tags (see node 'Sticky tags' in the CVS manual) are a better way to decide which
         branch you want to work on.  There is one reason to run cvs admin -b: to revert  to  the
         vendor's  version  when using vendor branches (see node 'Reverting local changes' in the
         CVS manual).  There can be no space between -b and its argument.

       -cstring

         Sets the comment leader to string.  The comment leader is not used by  current  versions
         of cvs or rcs 5.7.  Therefore, you can almost surely not worry about it.  See node 'Key-
         word substitution' in the CVS manual.

       -e[logins]

         Might not work together with cvs.  Erase the login names appearing  in  the  comma-sepa-
         rated list logins from the access list of the RCS file.  If logins is omitted, erase the
         entire access list.  There can be no space between -e and its argument.

       -I

         Run interactively, even if the standard input is not a terminal.  This option  does  not
         work with the client/server cvs and is likely to disappear in a future release of cvs.

       -i

         Useless with cvs.  This creates and initialises a new rcs file, without depositing a re-
         vision.  With cvs, add files with the cvs add command (see node 'Adding  files'  in  the
         CVS manual).

       -ksubst

         Set  the  default keyword substitution to subst.  See node 'Keyword substitution' in the
         CVS manual.  Giving an explicit -k option to cvs update, cvs  export,  or  cvs  checkout
         overrides this default.

       -l[rev]

         Lock  the  revision  with number rev.  If a branch is given, lock the latest revision on
         that branch.  If rev is omitted, lock the latest revision on the default branch.   There
         can be no space between -l and its argument.

         This  can  be used in conjunction with the rcslock.pl script in the contrib directory of
         the cvs source distribution to provide reserved checkouts (where only one  user  can  be
         editing a given file at a time).  See the comments in that file for details (and see the
         README file in that directory for disclaimers about the unsupported nature of  contrib).
         According to comments in that file, locking must set to strict (which is the default).

       -L

         Set locking to strict.  Strict locking means that the owner of an RCS file is not exempt
         from locking for checkin.  For use with cvs, strict locking must be set; see the discus-
         sion under the -l option above.

       -mrev:msg

         Replace the log message of revision rev with msg.

       -Nname[:[rev]]

         Act  like  -n,  except  override  any  previous  assignment of name.  For use with magic
         branches, see node 'Magic branch numbers' in the CVS manual.

       -nname[:[rev]]

         Associate the symbolic name name with the branch or revision rev.  It is normally better
         to  use  cvs  tag  or  cvs rtag instead.  Delete the symbolic name if both : and rev are
         omitted; otherwise, print an error message if name is already  associated  with  another
         number.   If  rev is symbolic, it is expanded before association.  A rev consisting of a
         branch number followed by a . stands for the current latest revision in the branch.  A :
         with an empty rev stands for the current latest revision on the default branch, normally
         the trunk.  For example, cvs admin -nname: associates name with the current latest revi-
         sion  of all the RCS files; this contrasts with cvs admin -nname:$ which associates name
         with the revision numbers extracted from keyword strings in  the  corresponding  working
         files.

       -orange

         Deletes (outdates) the revisions given by range.

         Note that this command can be quite dangerous unless you know exactly what you are doing
         (for example see the warnings below about how the rev1:rev2 syntax is confusing).

         If you are short on disc this option might help you.  But think twice before using  it--
         there  is  no  way  short  of  restoring the latest backup to undo this command!  If you
         delete different revisions than you planned, either due to carelessness or (heaven  for-
         bid)  a  cvs  bug, there is no opportunity to correct the error before the revisions are
         deleted.  It probably would be a good idea to experiment on a  copy  of  the  repository
         first.

         Specify range in one of the following ways:

         rev1::rev2

           Collapse  all revisions between rev1 and rev2, so that cvs only stores the differences
           associated with going from rev1 to rev2, not intermediate steps.  For  example,  after
           -o  1.3::1.5  one  can  retrieve revision 1.3, revision 1.5, or the differences to get
           from 1.3 to 1.5, but not the revision 1.4, or the differences  between  1.3  and  1.4.
           Other  examples:  -o 1.3::1.4 and -o 1.3::1.3 have no effect, because there are no in-
           termediate revisions to remove.

         ::rev

           Collapse revisions between the beginning of the branch containing rev and rev  itself.
           The  branchpoint  and rev are left intact.  For example, -o ::1.3.2.6 deletes revision
           1.3.2.1, revision 1.3.2.5, and everything in between, but leaves 1.3 and  1.3.2.6  in-
           tact.

         rev::

           Collapse revisions between rev and the end of the branch containing rev.  Revision rev
           is left intact but the head revision is deleted.

         rev

           Delete the revision rev.  For example, -o 1.3 is equivalent to -o 1.2::1.4.

         rev1:rev2

           Delete the revisions from rev1 to rev2, inclusive, on the same branch.  One  will  not
           be able to retrieve rev1 or rev2 or any of the revisions in between.  For example, the
           command cvs admin -oR_1_01:R_1_02 . is rarely useful.  It means to delete revisions up
           to,  and  including,  the  tag  R_1_02.  But beware!  If there are files that have not
           changed between R_1_02 and R_1_03 the file will have the same numerical revision  num-
           ber  assigned to the tags R_1_02 and R_1_03.  So not only will it be impossible to re-
           trieve R_1_02; R_1_03 will also have to be restored from the tapes!  In most cases you
           want to specify rev1::rev2 instead.

         :rev

           Delete  revisions  from the beginning of the branch containing rev up to and including
           rev.

         rev:

           Delete revisions from revision rev, including rev itself, to the  end  of  the  branch
           containing rev.

           None of the revisions to be deleted may have branches or locks.

           If  any  of  the revisions to be deleted have symbolic names, and one specifies one of
           the :: syntaxes, then cvs will give an error and not delete any revisions.  If you re-
           ally  want  to delete both the symbolic names and the revisions, first delete the sym-
           bolic names with cvs tag -d, then run cvs admin -o.  If one specifies the non-::  syn-
           taxes,  then  cvs  will  delete the revisions but leave the symbolic names pointing to
           nonexistent revisions.  This behavior is preserved  for  compatibility  with  previous
           versions  of  cvs, but because it isn't very useful, in the future it may change to be
           like the :: case.

           Due to the way cvs handles branches rev cannot be specified symbolically if  it  is  a
           branch.  See node 'Magic branch numbers' in the CVS manual, for an explanation.

           Make  sure  that  no-one  has checked out a copy of the revision you outdate.  Strange
           things will happen if he starts to edit it and tries to check it back  in.   For  this
           reason,  this option is not a good way to take back a bogus commit; commit a new revi-
           sion undoing the bogus change instead (see node 'Merging two  revisions'  in  the  CVS
           manual).

       -q

         Run quietly; do not print diagnostics.

       -sstate[:rev]

         Useful  with  cvs.   Set  the state attribute of the revision rev to state.  If rev is a
         branch number, assume the latest revision on that branch.  If rev is omitted, assume the
         latest  revision on the default branch.  Any identifier is acceptable for state.  A use-
         ful set of states is Exp (for experimental), Stab (for stable), and Rel (for  released).
         By  default, the state of a new revision is set to Exp when it is created.  The state is
         visible in the output from cvs log (see node 'log' in the CVS manual), and in the  $Log$
         and $State$ keywords (see node 'Keyword substitution' in the CVS manual).  Note that cvs
         uses the dead state for its own purposes (see node 'Attic' in the CVS manual); to take a
         file  to  or  from  the  dead  state  use commands like cvs remove and cvs add (see node
         'Adding and removing' in the CVS manual), not cvs admin -s.

       -t[file]

         Useful with cvs.  Write descriptive text from the contents of the named  file  into  the
         RCS  file, deleting the existing text.  The file pathname may not begin with -.  The de-
         scriptive text can be seen in the output from cvs log (see node 'log' in  the  CVS  man-
         ual).  There can be no space between -t and its argument.

         If file is omitted, obtain the text from standard input, terminated by end-of-file or by
         a line containing . by itself.  Prompt for the text if interaction is possible; see -I.

       -t-string

         Similar to -tfile. Write descriptive text from the string into the  rcs  file,  deleting
         the existing text.  There can be no space between -t and its argument.

       -U

         Set  locking  to non-strict.  Non-strict locking means that the owner of a file need not
         lock a revision for checkin.  For use with cvs, strict locking must be set; see the dis-
         cussion under the -l option above.

       -u[rev]

         See the option -l above, for a discussion of using this option with cvs.  Unlock the re-
         vision with number rev.  If a branch is  given,  unlock  the  latest  revision  on  that
         branch.   If  rev is omitted, remove the latest lock held by the caller.  Normally, only
         the locker of a revision may unlock it; somebody else unlocking a  revision  breaks  the
         lock.   This causes the original locker to be sent a commit notification (see node 'Get-
         ting Notified' in the CVS manual).  There can be no space between -u and its argument.

       -Vn

         In previous versions of cvs, this option meant to write an rcs file which would  be  ac-
         ceptable  to rcs version n, but it is now obsolete and specifying it will produce an er-
         ror.

       -xsuffixes

         In previous versions of cvs, this was documented as a way of specifying the names of the
         rcs  files.   However, cvs has always required that the rcs files used by cvs end in ,v,
         so this option has never done anything useful.

annotate, checkout, admin, CVS commands
   annotate--What revision modified each line of a file?
       o Synopsis: annotate [options] files...

         rannotate [options] files...

       o Requires: repository.

       o Changes: nothing.

         For each file in files, print the head revision of the trunk, together with  information
         on  the last modification for each line.  If backwards annotation is requested, show the
         first modification after the specified revision.  (Backwards  annotation  currently  ap-
         pears to be broken.)

annotate options
       These  standard  options  are  supported by annotate (see node 'Common options' in the CVS
       manual, for a complete description of them):

       -b

         Backwards, show when a line was removed.  Currently appears to be broken.

       -l

         Local directory only, no recursion.

       -R

         Process directories recursively.

       -f

         Use head revision if tag/date not found.

       -F

         Annotate binary files.

       -r tag[:date]

         Annotate file as of specified revision/tag or, when date  is  specified  and  tag  is  a
         branch tag, the version from the branch tag as it existed on date.  See node 'Common op-
         tions' in the CVS manual.

       -D date

         Annotate file as of specified date.

annotate example
       For example:

         $ cvs annotate ssfile
         Annotations for ssfile
         ***************
         1.1          (mary     27-Mar-96): ssfile line 1
         1.2          (joe      28-Mar-96): ssfile line 2

       The file ssfile currently contains two lines.  The ssfile line 1 line was  checked  in  by
       mary  on  March  27.  Then, on March 28, joe added a line ssfile line 2, without modifying
       the ssfile line 1 line.  This report doesn't tell you anything about lines which have been
       deleted  or  replaced;  you need to use cvs diff for that (see node 'diff' in the CVS man-
       ual).

       The options to cvs annotate are listed in node 'Invoking CVS' in the CVS manual,  and  can
       be  used to select the files and revisions to annotate.  The options are described in more
       detail there and in node 'Common options' in the CVS manual.

checkout, commit, annotate, CVS commands
   checkout--Check out sources for editing
       o Synopsis: checkout [options] modules...

       o Requires: repository.

       o Changes: working directory.

       o Synonyms: co, get

         Create or update a working directory containing copies of the source files specified  by
         modules.   You  must execute checkout before using most of the other cvs commands, since
         most of them operate on your working directory.

         The modules are either symbolic names for some  collection  of  source  directories  and
         files,  or  paths to directories or files in the repository.  The symbolic names are de-
         fined in the modules file.  See node 'modules' in the CVS manual.

         Depending on the modules you specify, checkout may recursively  create  directories  and
         populate  them  with the appropriate source files.  You can then edit these source files
         at any time (regardless of whether other  software  developers  are  editing  their  own
         copies  of  the  sources);  update  them to include new changes applied by others to the
         source repository; or commit your work as a permanent change to the source repository.

         Note that checkout is used to create directories.  The top-level  directory  created  is
         always  added  to the directory where checkout is invoked, and usually has the same name
         as the specified module.  In the case of a module alias, the created  sub-directory  may
         have  a  different  name,  but you can be sure that it will be a sub-directory, and that
         checkout will show the relative path leading to each file as it is extracted  into  your
         private work area (unless you specify the -Q global option).

         The  files  created by checkout are created read-write, unless the -r option to cvs (see
         node 'Global options' in the CVS manual) is specified, the CVSREAD environment  variable
         is  specified (see node 'Environment variables' in the CVS manual), or a watch is in ef-
         fect for that file (see node 'Watches' in the CVS manual).

         Note that running checkout on a directory that was already built by a prior checkout  is
         also  permitted.   This  is similar to specifying the -d option to the update command in
         the sense that new directories that have been created in the repository will  appear  in
         your  work area.  However, checkout takes a module name whereas update takes a directory
         name.  Also to use checkout this way it must be run from the top level directory  (where
         you  originally ran checkout from), so before you run checkout to update an existing di-
         rectory, don't forget to change your directory to the top level directory.

         For the output produced by the checkout command see node 'update output' in the CVS man-
         ual.

checkout options
       These  standard  options  are  supported by checkout (see node 'Common options' in the CVS
       manual, for a complete description of them):

       -D date

         Use the most recent revision no later than date.  This option is sticky, and implies -P.
         See node 'Sticky tags' in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.

       -f

         Only  useful  with  the  -D or -r flags.  If no matching revision is found, retrieve the
         most recent revision (instead of ignoring the file).

       -k kflag

         Process keywords according to kflag.  See node 'Keyword substitution' in the CVS manual.
         This  option  is  sticky; future updates of this file in this working directory will use
         the same kflag.  The status command can be viewed to see the sticky options.   See  node
         'Invoking CVS' in the CVS manual, for more information on the status command.

       -l

         Local; run only in current working directory.

       -n

         Do  not  run  any checkout program (as specified with the -o option in the modules file;
         see node 'modules' in the CVS manual).

       -P

         Prune empty directories.  See node 'Moving directories' in the CVS manual.

       -p

         Pipe files to the standard output.

       -R

         Checkout directories recursively.  This option is on by default.

       -r tag[:date]

         Checkout the revision specified by tag or, when date is specified and tag  is  a  branch
         tag,  the version from the branch tag as it existed on date.  This option is sticky, and
         implies -P.  See node 'Sticky tags' in the CVS manual, for more  information  on  sticky
         tags/dates.  Also, see node 'Common options' in the CVS manual.

         In addition to those, you can use these special command options with checkout:

       -A

         Reset  any sticky tags, dates, or -k options.  See node 'Sticky tags' in the CVS manual,
         for more information on sticky tags/dates.

       -c

         Copy the module file, sorted, to the standard output, instead of creating  or  modifying
         any files or directories in your working directory.

       -d dir

         Create  a  directory called dir for the working files, instead of using the module name.
         In general, using this flag is equivalent to using mkdir dir; cd  dir  followed  by  the
         checkout command without the -d flag.

         There  is  an  important  exception, however.  It is very convenient when checking out a
         single item to have the output appear in a directory that doesn't contain empty interme-
         diate directories.  In this case only, cvs tries to ``shorten'' pathnames to avoid those
         empty directories.

         For example, given a module foo that contains the file bar.c, the command cvs co -d  dir
         foo  will  create  directory  dir and place bar.c inside.  Similarly, given a module bar
         which has subdirectory baz wherein there is a file quux.c, the command  cvs  co  -d  dir
         bar/baz will create directory dir and place quux.c inside.

         Using  the  -N flag will defeat this behavior.  Given the same module definitions above,
         cvs co -N -d dir foo will create directories dir/foo and place bar.c inside,  while  cvs
         co -N -d dir bar/baz will create directories dir/bar/baz and place quux.c inside.

       -j tag

         With  two -j options, merge changes from the revision specified with the first -j option
         to the revision specified with the second j option, into the working directory.

         With one -j option, merge changes from the ancestor revision to the  revision  specified
         with the -j option, into the working directory.  The ancestor revision is the common an-
         cestor of the revision which the working directory is based on, and the revision  speci-
         fied in the -j option.

         In  addition, each -j option can contain an optional date specification which, when used
         with branches, can limit the chosen revision to one within a specific date.  An optional
         date is specified by adding a colon (:) to the tag: -jSymbolic_Tag:Date_Specifier.

         See node 'Branching and merging' in the CVS manual.

       -N

         Only  useful  together  with  -d dir.  With this option, cvs will not ``shorten'' module
         paths in your working directory when you check out a single module.  See the -d flag for
         examples and a discussion.

       -s

         Like  -c,  but include the status of all modules, and sort it by the status string.  See
         node 'modules' in the CVS manual, for info about the -s option that is used  inside  the
         modules file to set the module status.

checkout examples
       Get a copy of the module tc:

         $ cvs checkout tc

       Get a copy of the module tc as it looked one day ago:

         $ cvs checkout -D yesterday tc

commit, diff, checkout, CVS commands
   commit--Check files into the repository
       o Synopsis: commit [-lnRf] [-m 'log_message' | -F file] [-r revision] [files...]

       o Requires: working directory, repository.

       o Changes: repository.

       o Synonym: ci

         Use  commit when you want to incorporate changes from your working source files into the
         source repository.

         If you don't specify particular files to commit, all of the files in your  working  cur-
         rent  directory  are examined.  commit is careful to change in the repository only those
         files that you have really changed.  By default (or if you explicitly specify the -R op-
         tion), files in subdirectories are also examined and committed if they have changed; you
         can use the -l option to limit commit to the current directory only.

         commit verifies that the selected files are up to date with the current revisions in the
         source repository; it will notify you, and exit without committing, if any of the speci-
         fied files must be made current first with update (see node 'update' in the CVS manual).
         commit  does  not  call the update command for you, but rather leaves that for you to do
         when the time is right.

         When all is well, an editor is invoked to allow you to enter a log message that will  be
         written  to  one or more logging programs (see node 'modules' in the CVS manual, and see
         node 'loginfo' in the CVS manual) and placed in the  rcs  file  inside  the  repository.
         This  log  message can be retrieved with the log command; see node 'log' in the CVS man-
         ual.  You can specify the log message on the command line with the  -m  message  option,
         and  thus avoid the editor invocation, or use the -F file option to specify that the ar-
         gument file contains the log message.

         At commit, a unique commitid is placed in the rcs file inside the repository. All  files
         committed  at once get the same commitid, a string consisting only of hexadecimal digits
         (usually 16 in GNU cvs, 19 in Debian and MirBSD cvs).  FSF  GNU  cvs  1.11  and  OpenBSD
         OpenCVS  do  not  support commitids yet.  The commitid can be retrieved with the log and
         status command; see node 'log' in the CVS manual and node 'File status' in the CVS  man-
         ual.

commit options
       These  standard options are supported by commit (see node 'Common options' in the CVS man-
       ual, for a complete description of them):

       -l

         Local; run only in current working directory.

       -R

         Commit directories recursively.  This is on by default.

       -r revision

         Commit to revision.  revision must be either a branch, or a revision on the  main  trunk
         that  is higher than any existing revision number (see node 'Assigning revisions' in the
         CVS manual).  You cannot commit to a specific revision on a branch.

         commit also supports these options:

       -c

         Refuse to commit files unless the user has registered a valid edit on the file  via  cvs
         edit.   This  is  most  useful when commit -c and edit -c have been placed in all .cvsrc
         files.  A commit can be forced anyways by either regestering an edit  retroactively  via
         cvs  edit  (no changes to the file will be lost) or using the -f option to commit.  Sup-
         port for commit -c requires both client and a server versions 1.12.10 or greater.

       -F file

         Read the log message from file, instead of invoking an editor.

       -f

         Note that this is not the standard behavior of the -f option as defined in node  'Common
         options' in the CVS manual.

         Force cvs to commit a new revision even if you haven't made any changes to the file.  As
         of cvs version 1.12.10, it also causes the -c option to be ignored.  If the current  re-
         vision of file is 1.7, then the following two commands are equivalent:

           $ cvs commit -f file
           $ cvs commit -r 1.8 file

         The  -f  option  disables recursion (i.e., it implies -l).  To force cvs to commit a new
         revision for all files in all subdirectories, you must use -f -R.

       -m message

         Use message as the log message, instead of invoking an editor.

commit examples
   Committing to a branch
       You can commit to a branch revision (one that has an even number of dots) with the -r  op-
       tion.   To  create  a  branch revision, use the -b option of the rtag or tag commands (see
       node 'Branching and merging' in the CVS manual).  Then, either checkout or update  can  be
       used  to  base  your  sources on the newly created branch.  From that point on, all commit
       changes made within these working sources will be automatically added to  a  branch  revi-
       sion, thereby not disturbing main-line development in any way.  For example, if you had to
       create a patch to the 1.2 version of the product, even though the 2.0 version  is  already
       under development, you might do:

         $ cvs rtag -b -r FCS1_2 FCS1_2_Patch product_module
         $ cvs checkout -r FCS1_2_Patch product_module
         $ cd product_module
         [[ hack away ]]
         $ cvs commit

       This works automatically since the -r option is sticky.

   Creating the branch after editing
       Say you have been working on some extremely experimental software, based on whatever revi-
       sion you happened to checkout last week.  If others in your group would like  to  work  on
       this  software  with  you,  but without disturbing main-line development, you could commit
       your change to a new branch.  Others can then checkout your experimental stuff and utilise
       the full benefit of cvs conflict resolution.  The scenario might look like:

         [[ hacked sources are present ]]
         $ cvs tag -b EXPR1
         $ cvs update -r EXPR1
         $ cvs commit

       The  update  command  will  make  the -r EXPR1 option sticky on all files.  Note that your
       changes to the files will never be removed by the update command.  The commit  will  auto-
       matically  commit to the correct branch, because the -r is sticky.  You could also do like
       this:

         [[ hacked sources are present ]]
         $ cvs tag -b EXPR1
         $ cvs commit -r EXPR1

       but then, only those files that were changed by you will have the -r  EXPR1  sticky  flag.
       If you hack away, and commit without specifying the -r EXPR1 flag, some files may acciden-
       tally end up on the main trunk.

       To work with you on the experimental change, others would simply do

         $ cvs checkout -r EXPR1 whatever_module

diff, export, commit, CVS commands
   diff--Show differences between revisions
       o Synopsis: diff [-lR] [-k kflag] [format_options]  [(-r  rev1[:date1]  |  -D  date1)  [-r
         rev2[:date2] | -D date2]] [files...]

       o Requires: working directory, repository.

       o Changes: nothing.

         The diff command is used to compare different revisions of files.  The default action is
         to compare your working files with the revisions they were based on, and report any dif-
         ferences that are found.

         If  any  file  names  are  given, only those files are compared.  If any directories are
         given, all files under them will be compared.

         The exit status for diff is different than for other cvs commands; for details see  node
         'Exit status' in the CVS manual.

diff options
       These standard options are supported by diff (see node 'Common options' in the CVS manual,
       for a complete description of them):

       -D date

         Use the most recent revision no later than date.  See -r for how this affects  the  com-
         parison.

       -k kflag

         Process keywords according to kflag.  See node 'Keyword substitution' in the CVS manual.

       -l

         Local; run only in current working directory.

       -R

         Examine directories recursively.  This option is on by default.

       -r tag[:date]

         Compare  with  revision  specified by tag or, when date is specified and tag is a branch
         tag, the version from the branch tag as it existed on date.  Zero, one or two -r options
         can  be present.  With no -r option, the working file will be compared with the revision
         it was based on.  With one -r, that revision will be compared to  your  current  working
         file.   With  two -r options those two revisions will be compared (and your working file
         will not affect the outcome in any way).

         One or both -r options can be replaced by a -D date option, described above.

         The following options specify the format of the output.  They have the same  meaning  as
         in  GNU  diff.   Most options have two equivalent names, one of which is a single letter
         preceded by -, and the other of which is a long name preceded by --.

       -lines

         Show lines (an integer) lines of context.  This option does not specify an output format
         by  itself;  it has no effect unless it is combined with -c or -u.  This option is obso-
         lete.  For proper operation, patch typically needs at least two lines of context.

       -a

         Treat all files as text and compare them line-by-line, even if they do not  seem  to  be
         text.

       -b

         Ignore  trailing white space and consider all other sequences of one or more white space
         characters to be equivalent.

       -B

         Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines.

       --binary

         Read and write data in binary mode.

       --brief

         Report only whether the files differ, not the details of the differences.

       -c

         Use the context output format.

       -C lines

       --context[=lines]

         Use the context output format, showing lines (an integer) lines of context, or three  if
         lines  is  not given.  For proper operation, patch typically needs at least two lines of
         context.

       --changed-group-format=format

         Use format to output a  line  group  containing  differing  lines  from  both  files  in
         if-then-else format.  See node 'Line group formats' in the CVS manual.

       -d

         Change  the  algorithm to perhaps find a smaller set of changes.  This makes diff slower
         (sometimes much slower).

       -e

       --ed

         Make output that is a valid ed script.

       --expand-tabs

         Expand tabs to spaces in the output, to preserve the alignment  of  tabs  in  the  input
         files.

       -f

         Make  output  that looks vaguely like an ed script but has changes in the order they ap-
         pear in the file.

       -F regexp

         In context and unified format, for each hunk of differences, show some of the last  pre-
         ceding line that matches regexp.

       --forward-ed

         Make  output  that looks vaguely like an ed script but has changes in the order they ap-
         pear in the file.

       -H

         Use heuristics to speed handling of large  files  that  have  numerous  scattered  small
         changes.

       --horizon-lines=lines

         Do  not  discard  the last lines lines of the common prefix and the first lines lines of
         the common suffix.

       -i

         Ignore changes in case; consider upper- and lower-case letters equivalent.

       -I regexp

         Ignore changes that just insert or delete lines that match regexp.

       --ifdef=name

         Make merged if-then-else output using name.

       --ignore-all-space

         Ignore white space when comparing lines.

       --ignore-blank-lines

         Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines.

       --ignore-case

         Ignore changes in case; consider upper- and lower-case to be the same.

       --ignore-matching-lines=regexp

         Ignore changes that just insert or delete lines that match regexp.

       --ignore-space-change

         Ignore trailing white space and consider all other sequences of one or more white  space
         characters to be equivalent.

       --initial-tab

         Output  a tab rather than a space before the text of a line in normal or context format.
         This causes the alignment of tabs in the line to look normal.

       -L label

         Use label instead of the file name in the context format and unified format headers.

       --label=label

         Use label instead of the file name in the context format and unified format headers.

       --left-column

         Print only the left column of two common lines in side by side format.

       --line-format=format

         Use format to output all input lines in if-then-else format.  See node 'Line formats' in
         the CVS manual.

       --minimal

         Change  the  algorithm to perhaps find a smaller set of changes.  This makes diff slower
         (sometimes much slower).

       -n

         Output RCS-format diffs; like -f except that each command specifies the number of  lines
         affected.

       -N

       --new-file

         In  directory  comparison, if a file is found in only one directory, treat it as present
         but empty in the other directory.

       --new-group-format=format

         Use format to output a group of lines taken from just the second  file  in  if-then-else
         format.  See node 'Line group formats' in the CVS manual.

       --new-line-format=format

         Use format to output a line taken from just the second file in if-then-else format.  See
         node 'Line formats' in the CVS manual.

       --old-group-format=format

         Use format to output a group of lines taken from just the  first  file  in  if-then-else
         format.  See node 'Line group formats' in the CVS manual.

       --old-line-format=format

         Use  format to output a line taken from just the first file in if-then-else format.  See
         node 'Line formats' in the CVS manual.

       -p

         Show which C function each change is in.

       --rcs

         Output RCS-format diffs; like -f except that each command specifies the number of  lines
         affected.

       --report-identical-files

       -s

         Report when two files are the same.

       --show-c-function

         Show which C function each change is in.

       --show-function-line=regexp

         In  context and unified format, for each hunk of differences, show some of the last pre-
         ceding line that matches regexp.

       --side-by-side

         Use the side by side output format.

       --speed-large-files

         Use heuristics to speed handling of large  files  that  have  numerous  scattered  small
         changes.

       --suppress-common-lines

         Do not print common lines in side by side format.

       -t

         Expand  tabs  to  spaces  in  the output, to preserve the alignment of tabs in the input
         files.

       -T

         Output a tab rather than a space before the text of a line in normal or context  format.
         This causes the alignment of tabs in the line to look normal.

       --text

         Treat  all files as text and compare them line-by-line, even if they do not appear to be
         text.

       -u

         Use the unified output format.

       --unchanged-group-format=format

         Use format to output a group of common lines taken from both files in if-then-else  for-
         mat.  See node 'Line group formats' in the CVS manual.

       --unchanged-line-format=format

         Use format to output a line common to both files in if-then-else format.  See node 'Line
         formats' in the CVS manual.

       -U lines

       --unified[=lines]

         Use the unified output format, showing lines (an integer) lines of context, or three  if
         lines  is  not given.  For proper operation, patch typically needs at least two lines of
         context.

       -w

         Ignore white space when comparing lines.

       -W columns

       --width=columns

         Use an output width of columns in side by side format.

       -y

         Use the side by side output format.

Line group formats
       Line group formats let you specify formats  suitable  for  many  applications  that  allow
       if-then-else input, including programming languages and text formatting languages.  A line
       group format specifies the output format for a contiguous group of similar lines.

       For example, the following command compares the TeX file myfile with the original  version
       from the repository, and outputs a merged file in which old regions are surrounded by \be-
       gin{em}-\end{em} lines, and new regions are surrounded by \begin{bf}-\end{bf} lines.

         cvs diff \

            --old-group-format='\begin{em}
         %<\end{em}
         ' \

            --new-group-format='\begin{bf}
         %>\end{bf}
         ' \

            myfile

       The following command is equivalent to the above example, but it is a little more verbose,
       because it spells out the default line group formats.

         cvs diff \

            --old-group-format='\begin{em}
         %<\end{em}
         ' \

            --new-group-format='\begin{bf}
         %>\end{bf}
         ' \

            --unchanged-group-format='%=' \

            --changed-group-format='\begin{em}
         %<\end{em}
         \begin{bf}
         %>\end{bf}
         ' \

            myfile

       Here is a more advanced example, which outputs a diff listing with headers containing line
       numbers in a ``plain English'' style.

         cvs diff \

            --unchanged-group-format='' \

            --old-group-format='-------- %dn line%(n=1?:s) deleted at %df:
         %<' \

            --new-group-format='-------- %dN line%(N=1?:s) added after %de:
         %>' \

            --changed-group-format='-------- %dn line%(n=1?:s) changed at %df:
         %<-------- to:
         %>' \

            myfile

       To specify a line group format, use one of the options listed below.  You can  specify  up
       to four line group formats, one for each kind of line group.  You should quote format, be-
       cause it typically contains shell metacharacters.

       --old-group-format=format

         These line groups are hunks containing only lines from the first file.  The default  old
         group format is the same as the changed group format if it is specified; otherwise it is
         a format that outputs the line group as-is.

       --new-group-format=format

         These line groups are hunks containing only lines from the second file.  The default new
         group  format  is same as the changed group format if it is specified; otherwise it is a
         format that outputs the line group as-is.

       --changed-group-format=format

         These line groups are hunks containing lines from both files.  The default changed group
         format is the concatenation of the old and new group formats.

       --unchanged-group-format=format

         These  line groups contain lines common to both files.  The default unchanged group for-
         mat is a format that outputs the line group as-is.

         In a line group format, ordinary characters represent themselves; conversion  specifica-
         tions start with % and have one of the following forms.

       %<

         stands  for the lines from the first file, including the trailing newline.  Each line is
         formatted according to the old line format (see node 'Line formats' in the CVS manual).

       %>

         stands for the lines from the second file, including the trailing newline.  Each line is
         formatted according to the new line format.

       %=

         stands for the lines common to both files, including the trailing newline.  Each line is
         formatted according to the unchanged line format.

       %%

         stands for %.

       %c'C'

         where C is a single character, stands for C.  C may not be a backslash or an apostrophe.
         For example, %c':' stands for a colon, even inside the then-part of an if-then-else for-
         mat, which a colon would normally terminate.

       %c'\O'

         where O is a string of 1, 2, or 3 octal digits, stands for the character with octal code
         O.  For example, %c'\0' stands for a null character.

       Fn

         where  F  is  a  printf  conversion specification and n is one of the following letters,
         stands for n's value formatted with F.

         e

           The line number of the line just before the group in the old file.

         f

           The line number of the first line in the group in the old file; equals e + 1.

         l

           The line number of the last line in the group in the old file.

         m

           The line number of the line just after the group in the old file; equals l + 1.

         n

           The number of lines in the group in the old file; equals l - f + 1.

         E, F, L, M, N

           Likewise, for lines in the new file.

           The printf conversion specification can be %d, %o, %x, or %X, specifying decimal,  oc-
           tal, lower case hexadecimal, or upper case hexadecimal output respectively.  After the
           % the following options can appear in sequence: a - specifying left-justification;  an
           integer specifying the minimum field width; and a period followed by an optional inte-
           ger specifying the minimum number of digits.  For example, %5dN prints the  number  of
           new  lines  in  the  group  in  a field of width 5 characters, using the printf format
           "%5d".

       (A=B?T:E)

         If A equals B then T else E.  A and B are each either a decimal  constant  or  a  single
         letter  interpreted  as  above.  This format spec is equivalent to T if A's value equals
         B's; otherwise it is equivalent to E.

         For example, %(N=0?no:%dN) line%(N=1?:s) is equivalent to no lines if N (the  number  of
         lines  in  the group in the new file) is 0, to 1 line if N is 1, and to %dN lines other-
         wise.

Line formats
       Line formats control how each line taken from an input file is output as part  of  a  line
       group in if-then-else format.

       For  example, the following command outputs text with a one-column change indicator to the
       left of the text.  The first column of output is - for deleted lines, | for  added  lines,
       and  a  space  for unchanged lines.  The formats contain newline characters where newlines
       are desired on output.

         cvs diff \

            --old-line-format='-%l
         ' \

            --new-line-format='|%l
         ' \

            --unchanged-line-format=' %l
         ' \

            myfile

       To specify a line format, use one of the following  options.   You  should  quote  format,
       since it often contains shell metacharacters.

       --old-line-format=format

         formats lines just from the first file.

       --new-line-format=format

         formats lines just from the second file.

       --unchanged-line-format=format

         formats lines common to both files.

       --line-format=format

         formats all lines; in effect, it sets all three above options simultaneously.

         In  a  line  format, ordinary characters represent themselves; conversion specifications
         start with % and have one of the following forms.

       %l

         stands for the contents of the line, not counting its trailing newline (if  any).   This
         format ignores whether the line is incomplete.

       %L

         stands for the contents of the line, including its trailing newline (if any).  If a line
         is incomplete, this format preserves its incompleteness.

       %%

         stands for %.

       %c'C'

         where C is a single character, stands for C.  C may not be a backslash or an apostrophe.
         For example, %c':' stands for a colon.

       %c'\O'

         where O is a string of 1, 2, or 3 octal digits, stands for the character with octal code
         O.  For example, %c'\0' stands for a null character.

       Fn

         where F is a printf conversion specification, stands for the line number formatted  with
         F.   For example, %.5dn prints the line number using the printf format "%.5d".  See node
         'Line group formats' in the CVS manual, for more about printf conversion specifications.

         The default line format is %l followed by a newline character.

         If the input contains tab characters and it is important that they line  up  on  output,
         you  should ensure that %l or %L in a line format is just after a tab stop (e.g. by pre-
         ceding %l or %L with a tab character), or you should use the -t or --expand-tabs option.

         Taken together, the line and line group formats let you specify many different  formats.
         For  example,  the following command uses a format similar to diff's normal format.  You
         can tailor this command to get fine control over diff's output.

         cvs diff \

            --old-line-format='< %l
         ' \

            --new-line-format='> %l
         ' \

            --old-group-format='%df%(f=l?:,%dl)d%dE
         %<' \

            --new-group-format='%dea%dF%(F=L?:,%dL)
         %>' \

            --changed-group-format='%df%(f=l?:,%dl)c%dF%(F=L?:,%dL)
         %<--
         %>' \

            --unchanged-group-format='' \

            myfile

diff examples
       The following line produces a Unidiff (-u flag) between revision 1.14 and  1.19  of  back-
       end.c.   Due  to the -kk flag no keywords are substituted, so differences that only depend
       on keyword substitution are ignored.

         $ cvs diff -kk -u -r 1.14 -r 1.19 backend.c

       Suppose the experimental branch EXPR1 was based on a set of files tagged RELEASE_1_0.   To
       see what has happened on that branch, the following can be used:

         $ cvs diff -r RELEASE_1_0 -r EXPR1

       A command like this can be used to produce a context diff between two releases:

         $ cvs diff -c -r RELEASE_1_0 -r RELEASE_1_1 > diffs

       If  you  are  maintaining  ChangeLogs, a command like the following just before you commit
       your changes may help you write the ChangeLog entry.  All local  modifications  that  have
       not yet been committed will be printed.

         $ cvs diff -u | less

export, history, diff, CVS commands
   export--Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout
       o Synopsis: export [-flNnR] (-r rev[:date] | -D date) [-k subst] [-d dir] module...

       o Requires: repository.

       o Changes: current directory.

         This  command  is  a  variant of checkout; use it when you want a copy of the source for
         module without the cvs administrative directories.  For example, you might use export to
         prepare  source for shipment off-site.  This command requires that you specify a date or
         tag (with -D or -r), so that you can count on reproducing the source you ship to  others
         (and thus it always prunes empty directories).

         One  often  would  like  to use -kv with cvs export.  This causes any keywords to be ex-
         panded such that an import done at some other site will not lose  the  keyword  revision
         information.   But  be  aware that doesn't handle an export containing binary files cor-
         rectly.  Also be aware that after having used -kv, one can no longer use the ident  com-
         mand (which is part of the rcs suite--see ident(1)) which looks for keyword strings.  If
         you want to be able to use ident you must not use -kv.

export options
       These standard options are supported by export (see node 'Common options' in the CVS  man-
       ual, for a complete description of them):

       -D date

         Use the most recent revision no later than date.

       -f

         If no matching revision is found, retrieve the most recent revision (instead of ignoring
         the file).

       -l

         Local; run only in current working directory.

       -n

         Do not run any checkout program.

       -R

         Export directories recursively.  This is on by default.

       -r tag[:date]

         Export the revision specified by tag or, when date is specified and tag is a branch tag,
         the version from the branch tag as it existed on date.  See node 'Common options' in the
         CVS manual.

         In addition, these options (that are common to checkout and export) are also supported:

       -d dir

         Create a directory called dir for the working files, instead of using the  module  name.
         See  node  'checkout options' in the CVS manual, for complete details on how cvs handles
         this flag.

       -k subst

         Set keyword expansion mode (see node 'Substitution modes' in the CVS manual).

       -N

         Only useful together with -d dir.  See node 'checkout options' in the  CVS  manual,  for
         complete details on how cvs handles this flag.

history, import, export, CVS commands
   history--Show repository access history
       o Synopsis:     history [-report] [-flags] [-options args] [files...]

       o Requires: the file $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history

       o Changes: nothing.

         cvs  can keep a history log that tracks each use of most cvs commands.  You can use his-
         tory to display this information in various formats.

         To enable logging, the LogHistory config option must be set to some value other than the
         empty  string  and  the  history  file  specified  by  the HistoryLogPath option must be
         writable by all users who may run the cvs executable (see node 'config' in the CVS  man-
         ual).

         To  enable  the history command, logging must be enabled as above and the HistorySearch-
         Path config option (see node 'config' in the CVS manual) must be  set  to  specify  some
         number of the history logs created thereby and these files must be readable by each user
         who might run the history command.

         Creating a repository via the cvs init command  will  enable  logging  of  all  possible
         events  to a single history log file ($CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history) with read and write per-
         missions for all users (see node 'Creating a repository' in the CVS manual).

         Note: history uses -f, -l, -n, and -p in ways that conflict with the normal  use  inside
         cvs (see node 'Common options' in the CVS manual).

history options
       Several options (shown above as -report)  control  what kind of report is generated:

       -c

         Report on each time commit was used (i.e., each time the repository was modified).

       -e

         Everything  (all  record types).  Equivalent to specifying -x with all record types.  Of
         course, -e will also include record types which are added in a future version of cvs; if
         you  are  writing  a  script  which can only handle certain record types, you'll want to
         specify -x.

       -m module

         Report on a particular module.  (You can meaningfully use -m more than once on the  com-
         mand line.)

       -o

         Report on checked-out modules.  This is the default report type.

       -T

         Report on all tags.

       -x type

         Extract a particular set of record types type from the cvs history.  The types are indi-
         cated by single letters, which you may specify in combination.

         Certain commands have a single record type:

         F

           release

         O

           checkout

         E

           export

         T

           rtag

           One of five record types may result from an update:

         C

           A merge was necessary but collisions were detected (requiring manual merging).

         G

           A merge was necessary and it succeeded.

         U

           A working file was copied from the repository.

         P

           A working file was patched to match the repository.

         W

           The working copy of a file was deleted during update (because it  was  gone  from  the
           repository).

           One of three record types results from commit:

         A

           A file was added for the first time.

         M

           A file was modified.

         R

           A file was removed.

           The  options  shown  as -flags constrain or expand the report without requiring option
           arguments:

       -a

         Show data for all users (the default is to show data only for the  user  executing  his-
         tory).

       -l

         Show last modification only.

       -w

         Show  only the records for modifications done from the same working directory where his-
         tory is executing.

         The options shown as -options args constrain the report based on an argument:

       -b str

         Show data back to a record containing  the  string str  in  either the module name,  the
         file name, or the repository path.

       -D date

         Show  data since date.  This is slightly different from the normal use of -D date, which
         selects the newest revision older than date.

       -f file

         Show data for a particular file (you can specify several -f options on the same  command
         line).  This is equivalent to specifying the file on the command line.

       -n module

         Show  data  for a particular module (you can specify several -n options on the same com-
         mand line).

       -p repository

         Show data for a particular source repository  (you can specify several -p options on the
         same command line).

       -r rev

         Show records referring to revisions since the revision or tag named rev appears in indi-
         vidual rcs files.  Each rcs file is searched for the revision or tag.

       -t tag

         Show records since tag tag was last added to the history file.  This differs from the -r
         flag  above  in  that  it  reads  only  the history file, not the rcs files, and is much
         faster.

       -u name

         Show records for user name.

       -z timezone

         Show times in the selected records using the specified time zone instead of UTC.

import, log, history, CVS commands
   import--Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches
       o Synopsis: import [-options] repository vendortag releasetag...

       o Requires: Repository, source distribution directory.

       o Changes: repository.

         Use import to incorporate an entire source distribution from an outside source (e.g.,  a
         source vendor) into your source repository directory.  You can use this command both for
         initial creation of a repository, and for wholesale updates to the module from the  out-
         side  source.   See  node 'Tracking sources' in the CVS manual, for a discussion on this
         subject.

         The repository argument gives a directory name (or a path to a directory) under the  cvs
         root directory for repositories; if the directory did not exist, import creates it.

         When  you use import for updates to source that has been modified in your source reposi-
         tory (since a prior import), it will notify you of any files that conflict  in  the  two
         branches  of  development;  use  checkout -j to reconcile the differences, as import in-
         structs you to do.

         If cvs decides a file should be ignored (see node 'cvsignore' in  the  CVS  manual),  it
         does  not  import it and prints I  followed by the filename (see node 'import output' in
         the CVS manual, for a complete description of the output).

         If the file $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/cvswrappers exists, any file whose names match the specifi-
         cations  in  that file will be treated as packages and the appropriate filtering will be
         performed on the file/directory before being imported.  See node 'Wrappers' in  the  CVS
         manual.

         The  outside  source  is  saved  in a first-level branch, by default 1.1.1.  Updates are
         leaves of this branch; for example, files from the first imported collection  of  source
         will  be  revision  1.1.1.1,  then files from the first imported update will be revision
         1.1.1.2, and so on.

         At least three arguments are required.  repository is needed to identify the  collection
         of  source.   vendortag is a tag for the entire branch (e.g., for 1.1.1).  You must also
         specify at least one releasetag to uniquely identify the files  at  the  leaves  created
         each  time you execute import.  The releasetag should be new, not previously existing in
         the repository file, and uniquely identify the imported release,

         Note that import does not change the directory in which you invoke it.   In  particular,
         it  does  not set up that directory as a cvs working directory; if you want to work with
         the sources import them first and then check them out into a  different  directory  (see
         node 'Getting the source' in the CVS manual).

import options
       This  standard option is supported by import (see node 'Common options' in the CVS manual,
       for a complete description):

       -m message

         Use message as log information, instead of invoking an editor.

         There are the following additional special options.

       -b branch

         See node 'Multiple vendor branches' in the CVS manual.

       -k subst

         Indicate the keyword expansion mode desired.  This setting will apply to all files  cre-
         ated  during the import, but not to any files that previously existed in the repository.
         See node 'Substitution modes' in the CVS manual, for a list of valid -k settings.

       -I name

         Specify file names that should be ignored during import.  You can use  this  option  re-
         peatedly.   To  avoid ignoring any files at all (even those ignored by default), specify
         `-I !'.

         name can be a file name pattern of the same type that you can specify in the  .cvsignore
         file.  See node 'cvsignore' in the CVS manual.

       -W spec

         Specify  file  names that should be filtered during import.  You can use this option re-
         peatedly.

         spec can be a file name pattern of the same type that you can specify in  the  .cvswrap-
         pers file. See node 'Wrappers' in the CVS manual.

       -X

         Modify the algorithm used by cvs when importing new files so that new files do not imme-
         diately appear on the main trunk.

         Specifically, this flag causes cvs to mark new files as if they were deleted on the main
         trunk,  by  taking the following steps for each file in addition to those normally taken
         on import: creating a new revision on the main trunk indicating that  the  new  file  is
         dead,  resetting  the  new file's default branch, and placing the file in the Attic (see
         node 'Attic' in the CVS manual) directory.

         Setting the ImportNewFilesToVendorBranchOnly option in CVSROOT/config (see node 'config'
         in the CVS manual) forces use of this option on a repository-wide basis.

import output
       import  keeps  you  informed of its progress by printing a line for each file, preceded by
       one character indicating the status of the file:

       U file

         The file already exists in the repository and has not been locally modified; a new revi-
         sion has been created (if necessary).

       N file

         The file is a new file which has been added to the repository.

       C file

         The  file  already exists in the repository but has been locally modified; you will have
         to merge the changes.

       I file

         The file is being ignored (see node 'cvsignore' in the CVS manual).

       L file

         The file is a symbolic link; cvs import ignores  symbolic  links.   People  periodically
         suggest  that  this  behavior  should be changed, but if there is a consensus on what it
         should be changed to, it is not apparent.  (Various options in the modules file  can  be
         used to recreate symbolic links on checkout, update, etc.; see node 'modules' in the CVS
         manual.)

import examples
       See node 'Tracking sources' in the CVS manual, and node 'From files' in the CVS manual.

log, ls & rls, import, CVS commands
   log--Print out history information for files
       o Synopsis: log [options] [files...]

         rlog [options] [files...]

       o Requires: repository, working directory.

       o Changes: nothing.

         Display log information for files.  log used to call the  rcs  utility  rlog.   Although
         this is no longer true in the current sources, this history determines the format of the
         output and the options, which are not quite in the style of the other cvs commands.

         The output includes the location of the rcs file, the head revision (the latest revision
         on  the trunk), all symbolic names (tags) and some other things.  For each revision, the
         revision number, the date, the author, the number of lines added/deleted,  the  commitid
         and  the  log message are printed.  All dates are displayed in local time at the client.
         This is typically specified in the $TZ environment variable, which can be set to  govern
         how log displays dates.

         Note: log uses -R in a way that conflicts with the normal use inside cvs (see node 'Com-
         mon options' in the CVS manual).

log options
       By default, log prints all information that is available.  All other options restrict  the
       output.   Note  that  the  revision selection options (-d, -r, -s, and -w) have no effect,
       other than possibly causing a search for files in Attic directories, when used in conjunc-
       tion  with the options that restrict the output to only log header fields (-b, -h, -R, and
       -t) unless the -S option is also specified.

       -b

         Print information about the revisions on the default branch, normally the highest branch
         on the trunk.

       -d dates

         Print  information  about  revisions  with a checkin date/time in the range given by the
         semicolon-separated list of dates.  The date formats accepted are those accepted by  the
         -D  option  to  many  other  cvs commands (see node 'Common options' in the CVS manual).
         Dates can be combined into ranges as follows:

         d1<d2

         d2>d1

           Select the revisions that were deposited between d1 and d2.

         <d

         d>

           Select all revisions dated d or earlier.

         d<

         >d

           Select all revisions dated d or later.

         d

           Select the single, latest revision dated d or earlier.

           The > or < characters may be followed by = to indicate an inclusive range rather  than
           an exclusive one.

           Note that the separator is a semicolon (;).

       -h

         Print  only  the  name of the rcs file, name of the file in the working directory, head,
         default branch, access list, locks, symbolic names, and suffix.

       -l

         Local; run only in current working directory.  (Default is to run recursively).

       -N

         Do not print the list of tags for this file.  This option can be very useful  when  your
         site  uses a lot of tags, so rather than "more"'ing over 3 pages of tag information, the
         log information is presented without tags at all.

       -R

         Print only the name of the rcs file.

       -rrevisions

         Print information about revisions given in the comma-separated list revisions  of  revi-
         sions and ranges.  The following table explains the available range formats:

         rev1:rev2

           Revisions rev1 to rev2 (which must be on the same branch).

         rev1::rev2

           The same, but excluding rev1.

         :rev

         ::rev

           Revisions from the beginning of the branch up to and including rev.

         rev:

           Revisions starting with rev to the end of the branch containing rev.

         rev::

           Revisions starting just after rev to the end of the branch containing rev.

         branch

           An argument that is a branch means all revisions on that branch.

         branch1:branch2

         branch1::branch2

           A range of branches means all revisions on the branches in that range.

         branch.

           The latest revision in branch.

           A  bare -r with no revisions means the latest revision on the default branch, normally
           the trunk.  There can be no space between the -r option and its argument.

       -S

         Suppress the header if no revisions are selected.

       -s states

         Print information about revisions whose state attributes match one of the  states  given
         in  the  comma-separated  list states.  Individual states may be any text string, though
         cvs commonly only uses two states, Exp and dead.  See node 'admin options'  in  the  CVS
         manual for more information.

       -t

         Print the same as -h, plus the descriptive text.

       -wlogins

         Print  information about revisions checked in by users with login names appearing in the
         comma-separated list logins.  If logins is omitted, the user's login is assumed.   There
         can be no space between the -w option and its argument.

         log  prints  the intersection of the revisions selected with the options -d, -s, and -w,
         intersected with the union of the revisions selected by -b and -r.

log examples
       Since log shows dates in local time, you might want to see them in  Coordinated  Universal
       Time  (UTC)  or some other timezone.  To do this you can set your $TZ environment variable
       before invoking cvs:

         $ TZ=UTC cvs log foo.c
         $ TZ=EST cvs log bar.c

       (If you are using a csh-style shell, like tcsh, you would  need  to  prefix  the  examples
       above with env.)

ls & rls
   List files in the repository
       o ls [-e | -l] [-RP] [-r tag[:date]] [-D date] [path...]

         rls [-e | -l] [-RP] [-r tag[:date]] [-D date] [path...]

       o Requires: repository for rls, repository & working directory for ls.

       o Changes: nothing.

       o Synonym: dir & list are synonyms for ls and rdir & rlist are synonyms for rls.

         The ls and rls commands are used to list files and directories in the repository.

         By  default  ls  lists  the files and directories that belong in your working directory,
         what would be there after an update.

         By default rls lists the files and directories on the tip of the trunk  in  the  topmost
         directory of the repository.

         Both commands accept an optional list of file and directory names, relative to the work-
         ing directory for ls and the topmost directory of the repository for  rls.   Neither  is
         recursive by default.

ls & rls options
       These standard options are supported by ls & rls:

       -d

         Show dead revisions (with tag when specified).

       -e

         Display  in CVS/Entries format.  This format is meant to remain easily parsable by auto-
         mation.

       -l

         Display all details.

       -P

         Don't list contents of empty directories when recursing.

       -R

         List recursively.

       -r tag[:date]

         Show files specified by tag or, when date is specified and tag is a branch tag, the ver-
         sion  from  the  branch tag as it existed on date.  See node 'Common options' in the CVS
         manual.

       -D date

         Show files from date.

rls examples
         $ cvs rls
         cvs rls: Listing module: `.'
         CVSROOT
         first-dir

         $ cvs rls CVSROOT
         cvs rls: Listing module: `CVSROOT'
         checkoutlist
         commitinfo
         config
         cvswrappers
         loginfo
         modules
         notify
         rcsinfo
         taginfo
         verifymsg

rdiff, release, ls & rls, CVS commands
   rdiff--Create 'patch' format diffs between revisions
       o rdiff [-flags] [-V vn] (-r tag1[:date1] | -D date1) [-r tag2[:date2] |  -D  date2]  mod-
         ules...

       o Requires: repository.

       o Changes: nothing.

       o Synonym: patch

         Builds  a Larry Wall format patch(1) file between two releases, that can be fed directly
         into the patch program to bring an old release up-to-date with the new  release.   (This
         is  one  of the few cvs commands that operates directly from the repository, and doesn't
         require a prior checkout.) The diff output is sent to the standard output device.

         You can specify (using the standard -r and -D options) any combination of one or two re-
         visions  or  dates.   If only one revision or date is specified, the patch file reflects
         differences between that revision or date and the current  head  revisions  in  the  rcs
         file.

         Note that if the software release affected is contained in more than one directory, then
         it may be necessary to specify the -p option to the patch command when patching the  old
         sources, so that patch is able to find the files that are located in other directories.

rdiff options
       These  standard  options are supported by rdiff (see node 'Common options' in the CVS man-
       ual, for a complete description of them):

       -D date

         Use the most recent revision no later than date.

       -f

         If no matching revision is found, retrieve the most recent revision (instead of ignoring
         the file).

       -k kflag

         Process keywords according to kflag.  See node 'Keyword substitution' in the CVS manual.

       -l

         Local; don't descend subdirectories.

       -R

         Examine directories recursively.  This option is on by default.

       -r tag

         Use  the  revision  specified by tag, or when date is specified and tag is a branch tag,
         the version from the branch tag as it existed on date.  See node 'Common options' in the
         CVS manual.

         In addition to the above, these options are available:

       -c

         Use the context diff format.  This is the default format.

       -p

         Show which C function each change is in.

       -s

         Create  a  summary  change  report instead of a patch.  The summary includes information
         about files that were changed or added between the releases.  It is sent to the standard
         output  device.   This  is useful for finding out, for example, which files have changed
         between two dates or revisions.

       -t

         A diff of the top two revisions is sent to the standard output  device.   This  is  most
         useful for seeing what the last change to a file was.

       -u

         Use  the  unidiff format for the context diffs.  Remember that old versions of the patch
         program can't handle the unidiff format, so if you plan to post this patch  to  the  net
         you should probably not use -u.

       -V vn

         Expand  keywords  according to the rules current in rcs version vn (the expansion format
         changed with rcs version 5).  Note that this option is no longer accepted.  cvs will al-
         ways expand keywords the way that rcs version 5 does.

rdiff examples
       Suppose you receive mail from foo AT example.net asking for an update from release 1.2 to 1.4
       of the tc compiler.  You have no such patches on hand, but with cvs  that  can  easily  be
       fixed with a command such as this:

         $ cvs rdiff -c -r FOO1_2 -r FOO1_4 tc | \
         $$ Mail -s 'The patches you asked for' foo AT example.net

       Suppose  you  have  made  release  1.3, and forked a branch called R_1_3fix for bug fixes.
       R_1_3_1 corresponds to release 1.3.1, which was made some time ago.  Now, you want to  see
       how much development has been done on the branch.  This command can be used:

         $ cvs patch -s -r R_1_3_1 -r R_1_3fix module-name
         cvs rdiff: Diffing module-name
         File ChangeLog,v changed from revision 1.52.2.5 to 1.52.2.6
         File foo.c,v changed from revision 1.52.2.3 to 1.52.2.4
         File bar.h,v changed from revision 1.29.2.1 to 1.2

release, server & pserver, rdiff, CVS commands
   release--Indicate that a directory is no longer in use
       o release [-d] directories...

       o Requires: Working directory.

       o Changes: Working directory, history log.

         This  command  is  meant to safely cancel the effect of cvs checkout.  Since cvs doesn't
         lock files, it isn't strictly necessary to use this  command.   You  can  always  simply
         delete  your  working  directory,  if you like; but you risk losing changes you may have
         forgotten, and you leave no trace in the cvs history file (see node  'history  file'  in
         the CVS manual) that you've abandoned your checkout.

         Use  cvs  release  to  avoid  these  problems.   This command checks that no uncommitted
         changes are present; that you are executing it from immediately above a cvs working  di-
         rectory;  and  that the repository recorded for your files is the same as the repository
         defined in the module database.

         If all these conditions are true, cvs release leaves a record of its execution  (attest-
         ing to your intentionally abandoning your checkout) in the cvs history log.

release options
       The release command supports one command option:

       -d

         Delete your working copy of the file if the release succeeds.  If this flag is not given
         your files will remain in your working directory.

         WARNING:  The release command deletes all directories and files recursively.   This  has
         the  very  serious  side-effect  that  any  directory  that you have created inside your
         checked-out sources, and not added to the repository (using the add  command;  see  node
         'Adding files' in the CVS manual) will be silently deleted--even if it is non-empty!

release output
       Before release releases your sources it will print a one-line message for any file that is
       not up-to-date.

       U file

       P file

         There exists a newer revision of this file in the repository, and you have not  modified
         your local copy of the file (U and P mean the same thing).

       A file

         The  file  has been added to your private copy of the sources, but has not yet been com-
         mitted to the repository.  If you delete your copy of the  sources  this  file  will  be
         lost.

       R file

         The  file  has  been removed from your private copy of the sources, but has not yet been
         removed from the repository, since you have not yet committed  the  removal.   See  node
         'commit' in the CVS manual.

       M file

         The  file  is  modified in your working directory.  There might also be a newer revision
         inside the repository.

       ? file

         file is in your working directory, but does not correspond to  anything  in  the  source
         repository,  and  is  not in the list of files for cvs to ignore (see the description of
         the -I option, and see node 'cvsignore' in the CVS manual).  If you remove your  working
         sources, this file will be lost.

release examples
       Release the tc directory, and delete your local working copy of the files.

         $ cd ..         # You must stand immediately above the

                         # sources when you issue cvs release.
         $ cvs release -d tc
         You have [0] altered files in this repository.
         Are you sure you want to release (and delete) directory `tc': y
         $

server & pserver
   Act as a server for a client on stdin/stdout
       o pserver [-c path]

         server [-c path]

       o Requires: repository, client conversation on stdin/stdout

       o Changes: Repository or, indirectly, client working directory.

         The  cvs  server  and  pserver  commands are used to provide repository access to remote
         clients and expect a client conversation on stdin & stdout.   Typically  these  commands
         are launched from inetd or via ssh (see node 'Remote repositories' in the CVS manual).

         server  expects  that  the  client has already been authenticated somehow, typically via
         ssh, and pserver attempts to authenticate the client itself.

         Only one option is available with the server and pserver commands:

       -c path

         Load configuration from the given path rather  than  from  the  default  location  $CVS-
         ROOT/CVSROOT/config  (see  node 'config' in the CVS manual).  path must be /etc/cvs.conf
         or prefixed by /etc/cvs/.  This option is supported beginning with cvs release 1.12.13.

suck, update, server & pserver, CVS commands
   suck--Download RCS ,v file raw
       o suck module/pa/th

       o Requires: repository

         Locates the file module/pa/th,v or module/pa/Attic/th,v and  downloads  it  raw  as  RCS
         comma-v file.

         Output  consists  of  the real pathname of the comma-v file, relative to the CVS reposi-
         tory, followed by a newline and the binary file content immediately thereafter.

update, , suck, CVS commands
   update--Bring work tree in sync with repository
       o update [-ACdflPpR] [-I name] [-j rev [-j rev]] [-k kflag] [-r tag[:date] | -D date]  [-W
         spec] files...

       o Requires: repository, working directory.

       o Changes: working directory.

         After  you've run checkout to create your private copy of source from the common reposi-
         tory, other developers will continue changing the central source.  From  time  to  time,
         when  it  is convenient in your development process, you can use the update command from
         within your working directory to reconcile your work with any revisions applied  to  the
         source  repository  since  your  last checkout or update.  Without the -C option, update
         will also merge any differences between the local copy of files and their base revisions
         into any destination revisions specified with -r, -D, or -A.

update options
       These  standard  options  are  available with update (see node 'Common options' in the CVS
       manual, for a complete description of them):

       -D date

         Use the most recent revision no later than date.  This option is sticky, and implies -P.
         See node 'Sticky tags' in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.

       -f

         Only  useful  with  the  -D or -r flags.  If no matching revision is found, retrieve the
         most recent revision (instead of ignoring the file).

       -k kflag

         Process keywords according to kflag.  See node 'Keyword substitution' in the CVS manual.
         This  option  is  sticky; future updates of this file in this working directory will use
         the same kflag.  The status command can be viewed to see the sticky options.   See  node
         'Invoking CVS' in the CVS manual, for more information on the status command.

       -l

         Local;  run only in current working directory.  See node 'Recursive behavior' in the CVS
         manual.

       -P

         Prune empty directories.  See node 'Moving directories' in the CVS manual.

       -p

         Pipe files to the standard output.

       -R

         Update directories recursively (default).  See node 'Recursive behavior' in the CVS man-
         ual.

       -r tag[:date]

         Retrieve  the  revisions specified by tag or, when date is specified and tag is a branch
         tag, the version from the branch tag as it existed on date.  This option is sticky,  and
         implies  -P.   See  node 'Sticky tags' in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky
         tags/dates. Also see node 'Common options' in the CVS manual.

         These special options are also available with update.

       -A

         Reset any sticky tags, dates, or -k options.  See node 'Sticky tags' in the CVS  manual,
         for more information on sticky tags/dates.

       -C

         Overwrite  locally  modified  files  with clean copies from the repository (the modified
         file is saved in .#file.revision, however).

       -d

         Create any directories that exist in the repository if they're missing from the  working
         directory.   Normally,  update  acts only on directories and files that were already en-
         rolled in your working directory.

         This is useful for updating directories that were created in the  repository  since  the
         initial  checkout;  but  it has an unfortunate side effect.  If you deliberately avoided
         certain directories in the repository when you created your  working  directory  (either
         through  use  of  a  module  name or by listing explicitly the files and directories you
         wanted on the command line), then updating with -d will create those directories,  which
         may not be what you want.

       -I name

         Ignore  files whose names match name (in your working directory) during the update.  You
         can specify -I more than once on the command line to specify several  files  to  ignore.
         Use  -I  !  to avoid ignoring any files at all.  See node 'cvsignore' in the CVS manual,
         for other ways to make cvs ignore some files.

       -Wspec

         Specify file names that should be filtered during update.  You can use this  option  re-
         peatedly.

         spec  can  be a file name pattern of the same type that you can specify in the .cvswrap-
         pers file. See node 'Wrappers' in the CVS manual.

       -jrevision

         With two -j options, merge changes from the revision specified with the first -j  option
         to the revision specified with the second j option, into the working directory.

         With  one  -j option, merge changes from the ancestor revision to the revision specified
         with the -j option, into the working directory.  The ancestor revision is the common an-
         cestor  of the revision which the working directory is based on, and the revision speci-
         fied in the -j option.

         Note that using a single -j tagname option rather than -j branchname  to  merge  changes
         from  a  branch  will often not remove files which were removed on the branch.  See node
         'Merging adds and removals' in the CVS manual, for more.

         In addition, each -j option can contain an optional date specification which, when  used
         with branches, can limit the chosen revision to one within a specific date.  An optional
         date is specified by adding a colon (:) to the tag: -jSymbolic_Tag:Date_Specifier.

         See node 'Branching and merging' in the CVS manual.

update output
       update and checkout keep you informed of their progress by printing a line for each  file,
       preceded by one character indicating the status of the file:

       U file

         The  file  was  brought up to date with respect to the repository.  This is done for any
         file that exists in the repository but not in your working directory, and for files that
         you haven't changed but are not the most recent versions available in the repository.

       P file

         Like  U,  but the cvs server sends a patch instead of an entire file.  This accomplishes
         the same thing as U using less bandwidth.

       A file

         The file has been added to your private copy of the sources, and will be  added  to  the
         source  repository  when you run commit on the file.  This is a reminder to you that the
         file needs to be committed.

       R file

         The file has been removed from your private copy of the sources,  and  will  be  removed
         from  the  source repository when you run commit on the file.  This is a reminder to you
         that the file needs to be committed.

       M file

         The file is modified in  your  working  directory.

         M can indicate one of two states for a file you're working on: either there were no mod-
         ifications to the same file in the repository, so that your file remains as you last saw
         it; or there were modifications in the repository as well as in your copy, but they were
         merged successfully, without conflict, in your working directory.

         cvs  will  print some messages if it merges your work, and a backup copy of your working
         file (as it looked before you ran update) will be made.  The exact name of that file  is
         printed while update runs.

       C file

         A conflict was detected while trying to merge your changes to file with changes from the
         source repository.  file (the copy in your working directory) is now the result  of  at-
         tempting  to  merge  the  two revisions; an unmodified copy of your file is also in your
         working directory, with the name .#file.revision where revision  is  the  revision  that
         your  modified  file started from.  Resolve the conflict as described in node 'Conflicts
         example' in the CVS manual.  (Note that some systems automatically purge files that  be-
         gin with .# if they have not been accessed for a few days.  If you intend to keep a copy
         of your original file, it is a very good idea to rename it.)  Under vms, the  file  name
         starts with __ rather than .#.

       ? file

         file  is  in  your  working directory, but does not correspond to anything in the source
         repository, and is not in the list of files for cvs to ignore (see  the  description  of
         the -I option, and see node 'cvsignore' in the CVS manual).

AUTHORS
       Dick Grune
              Original  author of the cvs shell script version posted to comp.sources.unix in the
              volume6 release of December, 1986.  Credited with much of the cvs conflict  resolu-
              tion algorithms.

       Brian Berliner
              Coder  and designer of the cvs program itself in April, 1989, based on the original
              work done by Dick.

       Jeff Polk
              Helped Brian with the design of the cvs module and vendor branch support and author
              of the checkin(1) shell script (the ancestor of cvs import).

       Larry Jones, Derek R. Price, and Mark D. Baushke
              Have helped maintain cvs for many years.

       And many others too numerous to mention here.

SEE ALSO
       The  most comprehensive manual for CVS is Version Management with CVS by Per Cederqvist et
       al. (see NOTE at top).

       For CVS updates, more information on documentation, software related to  CVS,  development
       of CVS, and more, see:

           http://www.nongnu.org/cvs/

           ci(1),  co(1),  cvs(5), cvsbug(8), diff(1), grep(1), patch(1), rcs(1), rcsdiff(1), rc-
           sintro(1), rcsmerge(1), rlog(1), re_format(7).

                                                                                           CVS(1)

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