RCS(1) GNU(1992/04/10) RCS(1)
NAME
rcs - change RCS file attributes
SYNOPSIS
rcs [ options ] file ...
DESCRIPTION
rcs creates new RCS files or changes attributes of existing 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.
Pathnames matching an RCS suffix denote RCS files; all others denote
working files. Names are paired as explained in ci(1). Revision numbers
use the syntax described in ci(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 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, rcsdiff, and rcsmerge overrides this default. Beware
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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 message to be sent to the original
locker. The message 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.
-mrev:msg
Replace revision rev's log message with msg.
-nname[:[rev]]
Associate the symbolic name name with the branch or revision rev.
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, rcs -nname: RCS/* associates name
with the current latest revision of all the named RCS files; this
contrasts with rcs -nname:$ RCS/* which associates name with the
revision numbers extracted from keyword strings in the
corresponding working files.
-Nname[:[rev]]
Act like -n, except override any previous assignment of name.
-orange
deletes (outdates) the revisions given by range. A range
consisting of a single revision number means that revision. A
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range consisting of a branch number 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 beginning of the
branch containing rev up to and including rev, and rev: means from
revision rev to the end of the branch containing rev. None of the
outdated 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 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, 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 pathname 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.
-xsuffixes
Use suffixes to characterize RCS files. See ci(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.
RCS version 5.5 and earlier does not support the -x option, and requires
a ,v suffix on an RCS pathname.
FILES
rcs accesses files much as ci(1) does, except that it uses the effective
user for all accesses, it does not write the working file or its
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directory, and it does not even read the working file unless a revision
number of $ is specified.
ENVIRONMENT
RCSINIT
options prepended to the argument list, separated by spaces. See
ci(1) for details.
DIAGNOSTICS
The RCS pathname and the revisions outdated are written to the diagnostic
output. The exit status is zero if and only if all operations were
successful.
IDENTIFICATION
Author: Walter F. Tichy.
Revision Number: 1.1; Release Date: 1992/04/10.
Copyright © 1982, 1988, 1989 by Walter F. Tichy.
Copyright © 1990, 1991 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.
BUGS
The separator for revision ranges in the -o option used to be - instead
of :, but this leads to confusion when symbolic names contain -. For
backwards compatibility rcs -o still supports the old - separator, but it
warns about this obsolete use.
Symbolic names need not refer to existing revisions or branches. For
example, the -o option does not remove symbolic names for the outdated
revisions; you must use -n to remove the names.
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