RCS(1L) RCS(1L)
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.
Files ending in `,v' are RCS files, all others are working
files. If a working file is given, rcs tries to find the
corresponding RCS file first in directory ./RCS and then
in the current directory, as explained in co(1L).
-i creates and initializes a new RCS file, but
does not deposit any revision. If the RCS file
has no path prefix, rcs tries to place it first
into the subdirectory ./RCS, and then into the
current directory. If the RCS file already
exists, an error message is printed.
-alogins appends the login names appearing in the comma-
separated list logins to the access list of the
RCS file.
-Aoldfile appends the access list of oldfile to the
access list of the RCS file.
-e[logins] erases the login names appearing in the comma-
separated list logins from the access list of
the RCS file. If logins is omitted, the entire
access list is erased.
-b[rev] sets 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(1L)). This is useful for programming
languages without multi-line comments. During
rcs -i or initial ci, the comment leader is
guessed from the suffix of the working file.
-l[rev] locks the revision with number rev. If a
branch is given, the latest revision on that
branch is locked. If rev is omitted, the
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RCS(1L) RCS(1L)
latest revision on the default branch is
locked. Locking prevents overlapping changes.
A lock is removed with ci or rcs -u (see
below).
-u[rev] unlocks the revision with number rev. If a
branch is given, the latest revision on that
branch is unlocked. If rev is omitted, the
latest lock held by the caller is removed.
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 with a
line containing a single `.' or control-D.
-L sets 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 sets 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. The default
(-L or -U) is determined by your system
administrator.
-nname[:rev]
associates the symbolic name name with the
branch or revision rev. Rcs prints an error
message if name is already associated with
another number. If rev is omitted, the
symbolic name is deleted.
-Nname[:rev]
same as -n, except that it overrides a previous
assignment of name.
-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 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 quiet mode; diagnostics are not printed.
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RCS(1L) RCS(1L)
-sstate[:rev]
sets the state attribute of the revision rev to
state. If rev is a branch number, the latest
revision on that branch is assumed. If rev is
omitted, the latest revision on the default
branch is assumed. 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(1L)
sets the state of a revision to Exp.
-t[txtfile]
writes descriptive text into the RCS file
(deletes the existing text). If txtfile is
omitted, rcs prompts the user for text supplied
from the standard input, terminated with a line
containing a single `.' or control-D.
Otherwise, the descriptive text is copied from
the file txtfile. If the -i option is present,
descriptive text is requested even if -t is not
given. The prompt is suppressed if the
standard input is not a terminal.
DIAGNOSTICS
The RCS file name and the revisions outdated are written
to the diagnostic output. The exit status always refers
to the last RCS file operated upon, and is 0 if the
operation was successful, 1 otherwise.
FILES
The caller of the command must have read/write permission
for the directory containing the RCS file and read
permission for the RCS file itself. Rcs creates a
semaphore file in the same directory as the RCS file to
prevent simultaneous update. For changes, rcs always
creates a new file. On successful completion, rcs deletes
the old one and renames the new one. This strategy makes
links to RCS files useless.
IDENTIFICATION
Author: Walter F. Tichy, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN, 47907.
Revision Number: 1.3 ; Release Date: 89/05/02 .
Copyright (C) 1982, 1988, 1989 by Walter F. Tichy.
SEE ALSO
co(1L), ci(1L), ident(1L), rcsdiff(1L), rcsintro(1L),
rcsmerge(1L), rlog(1L), rcsfile(5L)
Walter F. Tichy, "Design, Implementation, and Evaluation
of a Revision Control System," in Proceedings of the 6th
International Conference on Software Engineering, IEEE,
Tokyo, Sept. 1982.
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