SYNOPSIS

       cvs [ cvs_options ]
              cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]

NOTE

       This  manpage is a summary of some of the features of cvs.  It is auto-
       generated from an appendix of the CVS manual.  For more in-depth  docu-
       mentation,  please consult the Cederqvist manual (via the info CVS com-
       mand or otherwise, as described in the SEE ALSO section  of  this  man-
       page).  Cross-references in this man page refer to nodes in the same.

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).

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 ref-
         erence  manual for that command.  There are only two situations where
         you may omit cvs_command: cvs -H elicits a  list  of  available  com-
         mands, and cvs -v displays version information on cvs itself.

         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 doc-
         umentation 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 command
       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 suc-
       cessful status if it found no differences, or a failure status if there
       were  differences or if there was an error.  Because this behavior pro-
       vides 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  spec-
       ify that option.  One example (the one that drove the implementation of
       the .cvsrc support, actually) is that many people find the default out-
       put  of  the diff command to be very hard to read, and that either con-
       text diffs or unidiffs are much easier to understand.

       The ~/.cvsrc file is a way that you can add default options to cvs_com-
       mands 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 remainder 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

       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 follow-
       ing 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

         Specify  legal cvsroot directory.  See see node `Password authentica-
         tion server' 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  connection  (see  node  `GSSAPI
         authenticated'  in  the CVS manual).  Authentication prevents certain
         sorts of attacks  involving  hijacking  the  active  tcp  connection.
         Enabling authentication 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 accepted, but it does nothing.



       -T tempdir

         Use  tempdir  as  the  directory  where  temporary files are located.
         Overrides the setting of the $TMPDIR  environment  variable  and  any
         precompiled  directory.   This  parameter  should  be specified as an
         absolute pathname.  (When running client/server, -T affects only  the

         Use editor to enter revision log information.  Overrides the  setting
         of the $CVSEDITOR and $EDITOR environment variables.  For more infor-
         mation, see 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-orthogonality 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.



       -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.



       -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.





       -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.   Particularly  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  authen-
         ticated'  in the CVS manual) or a Kerberos connection (see node `Ker-
         beros 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  config-
         ure option, --enable-encryption, when you build cvs.



       -z gzip-level

         Set  the compression level.  Valid levels are 1 (high speed, low com-
         pression) to 9 (low speed, high compression), or 0  to  disable  com-

       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,
         rdiff,  rtag,  and  update  commands.  (The history command uses this
         option in a slightly different way; see node `history options' in the
         CVS manual).

         A  wide variety of date formats are supported by cvs.  The most stan-
         dard ones are ISO8601 (from the International Standards Organization)
         and  the  Internet e-mail standard (specified in RFC822 as amended by
         RFC1123).

         ISO8601 dates have many variants but a few examples are:


           1972-09-24
           1972-09-24 20:05




         There are a lot more ISO8601 date formats, and cvs  accepts  many  of
         them, but you probably don't want to hear the whole long story :-).

         In  addition to the dates allowed in Internet e-mail itself, cvs also
         allows some of the fields to be omitted.  For example:


           24 Sep 1972 20:05
           24 Sep




         The date is interpreted as being in the local timezone, unless a spe-
         cific timezone is specified.

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






       -f

         When you specify a particular date or tag to cvs commands, they  nor-
         mally  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 update.

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



       -k kflag

         Alter the default processing of keywords.  see node `Keyword  substi-
         tution'  in  the  CVS  manual,  for the meaning of kflag.  Your kflag
         specification is sticky when you use it to create a private copy of a
         source  file;  that is, when you use this option with the checkout or
         update commands, cvs associates your selected kflag  with  the  file,
         and  continues to use it with future update commands on the same file
         until you specify otherwise.

         The -k option is available with the add, checkout, diff,  import  and
         update commands.



       -l

         Local;  run  only in current working directory, rather than recursing
         through subdirectories.

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

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



       -r tag

         Use the revision specified by the tag argument instead of the default
         head  revision.   As  well  as arbitrary tags defined with the tag or
         rtag command, two special tags are always available: HEAD  refers  to
         the  most recent version available in the repository, and BASE refers
         to the revision you last checked out into the current working  direc-
         tory.

         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 commands, until you specify oth-
         erwise (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 see
         node `Tags' in the CVS manual, or the name of a branch, as  described

       -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 .cvswrappers file.  Available with the
         following commands: import, and update.

admin

   Administration
       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 his-
         torical purposes.  Some of the questionable  options  are  likely  to
         disappear  in  the  future.   This  command does work recursively, so
         extreme care should be used.

         On unix, if there is a group named cvsadmin,  only  members  of  that
         group  can  run cvs admin (except for the cvs admin -k command, which
         can be run by anybody).  This 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 cvsad-
         min feature does not exist and all users can run cvs admin.

admin options

       Some  of  these  options have questionable usefulness for cvs but exist
       for historical purposes.  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-separated  list  logins  to the access list of the rcs
         file.



         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 `Keyword substitution' in the CVS  man-
         ual.



       -e[logins]

         Might not work together with cvs.  Erase the login names appearing in
         the comma-separated 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 initializes a new rcs file, with-
         out depositing a revision.  With cvs, add files with the cvs add com-
         mand (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

       -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 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 exam-
         ple, 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  key-
         word 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  forbid)  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
           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 intact.


         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 number assigned to the tags R_1_02
           and R_1_03.  So not only will it be impossible to retrieve  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 really want to  delete  both  the
           symbolic  names  and the revisions, first delete the symbolic names
           with cvs tag -d, then run cvs  admin  -o.   If  one  specifies  the
           non-::  syntaxes,  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

       -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 useful 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 $State$ key-
         words (see node `Keyword substitution' in the CVS manual).  Note that
         cvs  uses  the  dead state for its own purposes; to take a file to or
         from the dead state use commands like cvs remove and cvs add, 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 descriptive text can be seen in
         the output from cvs log (see node `log' in the  CVS  manual).   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 discussion under the -l option
         above.


       -Vn

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



       -xsuffixes

         In previous versions of cvs, this was documented as a way of specify-
         ing 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

   What revision modified each line of a file?
       o Synopsis: annotate [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.

annotate options

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



       -l

         Local directory only, no recursion.



       -R

         Process directories recursively.



       -f

         Use head revision if tag/date not found.

       -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
       manual).

       The  options  to  cvs annotate are listed in see 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 see
       node `Common options' in the CVS manual.

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 repos-
         itory.  The symbolic names are defined in the modules file.  see node
         `modules' in the CVS manual.

         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 speci-
         fied,  the CVSREAD environment variable is specified (see node `Envi-
         ronment variables' in the CVS manual), or a watch is  in  effect  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 directory, don't forget
         to change your directory to the top level directory.

         For  the output produced by the checkout command see see node `update
         output' in the CVS manual.

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 see node `Sticky tags' in the  CVS  man-
         ual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.



       -f

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



       -k kflag

         Process keywords according to kflag.  See see node `Keyword substitu-
         tion' 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 see node
         `Invoking  CVS' in the CVS manual, for more information on the status



       -P

         Prune  empty  directories.   See 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

         Use revision tag.  This option is sticky, and implies  -P.   See  see
         node  `Sticky tags' in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky
         tags/dates.

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



       -A

         Reset  any  sticky  tags, dates, or -k options.  See 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 cre-
         ating  or  modifying  any files or directories in your working direc-
         tory.



       -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

         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 ancestor of  the  revision  which
         the  working directory is based on, and the revision specified in the
         -j option.

         In addition, each -j option can contain an optional  date  specifica-
         tion 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


         [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  current  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 option),
         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  cur-
         rent revisions in the source repository; it will notify you, and exit
         without committing, if any of the specified files must be  made  cur-
         rent 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 see node `log' in
         the CVS manual.  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 argument file contains the
         log message.

commit options

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



       -l

         Local; run only in current working directory.



       -R

         Commit directories recursively.  This is on by default.

       -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 see 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.  If the current revision 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  option.   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 com-
       mit  changes  made  within  these working sources will be automatically
       added to a branch revision, thereby not disturbing  main-line  develop-
       ment  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

       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 automatically 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 accidentally 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

   Show differences between revisions
       o Synopsis: diff [-lR] [-k  kflag]  [format_options]  [[-r  rev1  |  -D
         date1] [-r rev2 |  -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  revi-
         sions  they were based on, and report any differences 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.
         affects the comparison.



       -k kflag

         Process keywords according to kflag.  See see node `Keyword substitu-
         tion' in the CVS manual.



       -l

         Local; run only in current working directory.



       -R

         Examine directories recursively.  This option is on by default.



       -r tag

         Compare  with  revision  tag.   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 spec-
         ify  an  output  format by itself; it has no effect unless it is com-
         bined with -c or -u.  This option is obsolete.  For proper operation,
         patch typically needs at least two lines of context.



       -a

         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 differ-
         ences.



       -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).



         tabs in the input files.



       -f

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



       -F regexp

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



       --forward-ed

         Make output that looks vaguely like an ed script but has  changes  in
         the order they appear 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 equiv-
         alent.



       -I regexp

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



         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  for-
         mat.



       -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



       -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 preceding 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.


       --unchanged-group-format=format

         Use format to output a group of common lines taken from both files in
         if-then-else  format.   see node `Line group formats' in the CVS man-
         ual.



       --unchanged-line-format=format

         Use format to output a line common to both files in if-then-else for-
         mat.  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.


         %<\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  for-
       mats.


         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.

       --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 for-
         mat  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 format is a format that outputs the line group as-is.

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



       %<

         stands for the lines from the first file, including the trailing new-
         line.   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 for-
         mat.




       %c'\O'

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



       Fn

         where F is a printf conversion specification and n is one of the fol-
         lowing 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, spec-
           ifying decimal, octal, lower case hexadecimal, or upper case  hexa-
           decimal 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

         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 otherwise.

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


       %L

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



       %%

         stands for %.



       %c'C'

         where  C  is  a single character, stands for C.  C may not be a back-
         slash 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  char-
         acter with octal code O.  For example, %c'\0' stands for a null char-
         acter.



       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 preceding %l or %L with a tab char-
         acter), 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 \

diff examples

       The  following  line produces a Unidiff (-u flag) between revision 1.14
       and 1.19 of backend.c.  Due to the -kk flag  no  keywords  are  substi-
       tuted,  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 fol-
       lowing 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

   Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout
       o Synopsis: export [-flNnR] [-r rev|-D date] [-k subst] [-d  dir]  mod-
         ule...

         doesn't  handle an export containing binary files correctly.  Also be
         aware that after having used -kv, one can no  longer  use  the  ident
         command  (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 manual, 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

         Use revision tag.

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




       -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

   Show status of files and users
       o Synopsis:     history [-report] [-flags] [-options args] [files...]

       o Requires: the file $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history

       o Changes: nothing.

         cvs can keep a history file that tracks each  use  of  the  checkout,
         commit,  rtag,  update, and release commands.  You can use history to
         display this information in various formats.

         Logging must be enabled by creating  the  file  $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/his-
         tory.

         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


       -x type

         Extract  a  particular set of record types type from the cvs history.
         The types are indicated 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 man-
           ual 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).


           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 history).



       -l

         Show last modification only.



       -w

         Show  only  the  records for modifications done from the same working
         directory where history 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  records  referring to revisions since the revision or tag named
         rev appears in individual 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

   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  out-
         side  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 outside
         source.  see node `Tracking sources' in the CVS manual, for a discus-
         sion on this subject.

         The repository argument gives a directory name (or a path to a direc-
         tory) 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 repository (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 instructs you  to
         do.

         and so on.

         At least three arguments are required.  repository is needed to iden-
         tify 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 identify the files at the leaves created each time  you
         execute import.

         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  work-
         ing 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 see node `Multiple vendor branches' in the CVS manual.



       -k subst

         Indicate the keyword expansion mode desired.  This setting will apply
         to  all  files  created  during the import, but not to any files that
         previously existed in the repository.   See  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 repeatedly.  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.

       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 revision 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  modi-
         fied; 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.  Peo-
         ple periodically suggest that this behavior should be changed, but if
         there is a consensus on what it should be changed to, it doesn't seem
         to be 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 see node `Tracking sources' in the CVS manual, and see  node  `From
       files' in the CVS manual.

log

   Print out log information for files
       o Synopsis: log [options] [files...]

       o Requires: repository, working directory.

       o Changes: nothing.
         cvs (see node `Common options' in the CVS manual).

log options

       By default, log prints all information that is  available.   All  other
       options restrict the output.



       -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 for-
         mats 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.


         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 revisions 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.


           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.



       -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

       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 com-
         mands 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  combina-
         tion  of one or two revisions or dates.  If only one revision or date
         is specified, the patch file reflects differences between that  revi-
         sion 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 manual, 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; don't descend subdirectories.



       -R

         Examine directories recursively.  This option is on by default.



       -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 ver-
         sions 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 always expand keywords the way  that
         rcs version 5 does.

rdiff examples

       Suppose you receive mail from foo@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@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:


       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 imme-
         diately above a  cvs  working  directory;  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  (attesting 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 direc-
         tory.

         WARNING:  The release  command  deletes  all  directories  and  files
         recursively.   This  has the very serious side-effect that any direc-
         tory 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






       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 any-
         thing 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
         $

update

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

       o Requires: repository, working directory.

       o Changes: working directory.

       -D date

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



       -f

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



       -k kflag

         Process keywords according to kflag.  See see node `Keyword substitu-
         tion' 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 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 see node `Moving directories' in the
         CVS manual.



       -p

         Pipe files to the standard output.



       -R

         Update directories recursively (default).  see node `Recursive behav-
         ior' in the CVS manual.

         Reset  any  sticky  tags, dates, or -k options.  See 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  reposi-
         tory (the modified file is saved in .#file.revision, however).



       -d

         Create  any directories that exist in the repository if they're miss-
         ing from the working directory.  Normally, update acts only on direc-
         tories  and  files  that were already enrolled in your working direc-
         tory.

         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  directo-
         ries you wanted on the command line), then updating with -d will cre-
         ate those directories, which may not be what you want.



       -I name

         Ignore files whose names match name (in your working directory)  dur-
         ing  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 repeatedly.

         spec can be a file name pattern of the same type that you can specify
         in the .cvswrappers file. see node `Wrappers' in the CVS manual.



       -jrevision

         With two -j options, merge changes from the revision  specified  with
         In  addition,  each -j option can contain an optional date specifica-
         tion 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
         source, 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.

         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 attempting 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 revi-
         sion that your modified file started from.  Resolve the  conflict  as
         described  in  see node `Conflicts example' in the CVS manual.  (Note
         that some systems automatically purge files that  begin  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 any-
         thing 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 resolution 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.  Depending on your system, you may be able to get
       it  with the info CVS command or it may be available as cvs.pdf (Porta-
       ble  Document  Format),  cvs.ps  (PostScript),   cvs.texinfo   (Texinfo
       source), or cvs.html.

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

           http://cvshome.org