RCS(1) RCS(1)
NAME
rcs - change RCS file attributes
SYNOPSIS
rcs [ options ] file ...
DESCRIPTION
rcs creates new RCS files or changes attributes of exist-
ing ones. An RCS file contains multiple revisions of
text, an access list, a change log, descriptive text, and
some control attributes. For rcs to work, the caller's
login name must be on the access list, except if the
access list is empty, the caller is the owner of the file
or the superuser, or the -i option is present.
File names ending in ,v denote RCS files; all others
denote working files. If a working file is given, rcs
tries to find the corresponding RCS file first in an RCS
subdirectory and then in the working file's directory, as
explained in co(1).
OPTIONS
-i Create and initialize a new RCS file, but do not
deposit any revision. If the RCS file has no path
prefix, try to place it first into the subdirectory
./RCS, and then into the current directory. If the
RCS file already exists, print an error message.
-alogins
Append the login names appearing in the comma-
separated list logins to the access list of the RCS
file.
-Aoldfile
Append the access list of oldfile to the access
list of the RCS file.
-e[logins]
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.
-b[rev]
Set the default branch to rev. If rev is omitted,
the default branch is reset to the (dynamically)
highest branch on the trunk.
-cstring
sets the comment leader to string. The comment
leader is printed before every log message line
generated by the keyword $Log$ during checkout (see
co(1)). This is useful for programming languages
without multi-line comments. An initial ci , or an
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rcs -i without -c, guesses the comment leader from
the suffix of the working file.
-ksubst
Set the default keyword substitution to subst. The
effect of keyword substitution is described in
co(1). Giving an explicit -k option to co, rcsd-
iff, and rcsmerge overrides this default. Beware
rcs -kv, because -kv is incompatible with co -l.
Use rcs -kkv to restore the normal default keyword
substitution.
-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. Locking prevents overlapping
changes. A lock is removed with ci or rcs -u (see
below).
-u[rev]
Unlock the revision 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 a mail mes-
sage to be sent to the original locker. The mes-
sage contains a commentary solicited from the
breaker. The commentary is terminated by end-of-
file or by a line containing . by itself.
-L Set locking to strict. Strict locking means that
the owner of an RCS file is not exempt from locking
for checkin. This option should be used for files
that are shared.
-U Set locking to non-strict. Non-strict locking
means that the owner of a file need not lock a
revision for checkin. This option should not be
used for files that are shared. Whether default
locking is strict is determined by your system
administrator, but it is normally strict.
-nname[:rev]
Associate the symbolic name name with the branch or
revision rev. Print an error message if name is
already associated with another number. If rev is
omitted, the symbolic name is deleted.
-Nname[:rev]
Act like -n, except override any previous assign-
ment of name.
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-orange
deletes (outdates) the revisions given by range. A
range consisting of a single revision number means
that revision. A range consisting of a branch num-
ber means the latest revision on that branch. A
range of the form rev1-rev2 means revisions rev1 to
rev2 on the same branch, -rev means from the begin-
ning of the branch containing rev up to and includ-
ing rev, and rev- means from revision rev to the
end of the branch containing rev. None of the out-
dated revisions may have branches or locks.
-q Run quietly; do not print diagnostics.
-I Run interactively, even if the standard input is
not a terminal.
-sstate[:rev]
Set the state attribute of the revision rev to
state . If rev is a branch number, assume the lat-
est 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, ci(1)
sets the state of a revision to Exp.
-t[file]
Write descriptive text from the contents of the
named file into the RCS file, deleting the existing
text. The file name may not begin with -. 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. With -i, descriptive text is
obtained even if -t is not given.
-t-string
Write descriptive text from the string into the RCS
file, deleting the existing text.
-Vn Emulate RCS version n. See co(1) for details.
COMPATIBILITY
The -brev option generates an RCS file that cannot be
parsed by RCS version 3 or earlier.
The -ksubst options (except -kkv) generate an RCS file
that cannot be parsed by RCS version 4 or earlier.
Use rcs -Vn to make an RCS file acceptable to RCS version
n by discarding information that would confuse version n.
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DIAGNOSTICS
The RCS file name and the revisions outdated are written
to the diagnostic output. The exit status is zero if and
only if all operations were successful.
FILES
rcs accesses files much as ci(1) does, except that it does
not need to access the working file or its directory.
IDENTIFICATION
Author: Walter F. Tichy.
Revision Number: 1.2; Release Date: 1992/01/04.
Copyright (C) 1982, 1988, 1989 by Walter F. Tichy.
Copyright (C) 1990 by Paul Eggert.
SEE ALSO
co(1), ci(1), ident(1), rcsdiff(1), rcsintro(1),
rcsmerge(1), rlog(1), rcsfile(5)
Walter F. Tichy, RCS--A System for Version Control,
Software--Practice & Experience 15, 7 (July 1985),
637-654.
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