Provided by: cvs_1.12.13+real-27build1_amd64 bug

NAME

       cvs - Concurrent Versions System

SYNOPSIS

       cvs [ cvs_options ]
              cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]

NOTE

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

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

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

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

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

           arrow keys
              to move on the page

           Tab
              to move to the next hyperlink

           Return
              to activate the hyperlink under the cursor

           l (lowercase ell)
              to go to the previously visited page

           Page Up/b, Page Down/Space
              to   move   by  screen  pages,  including  advancing  to  the  previous  (or  next,
              respectively) section at the first (last) screen page

           p, n
              to go to the previous (next) page on the current navigation hierarchy level

           t  to go to the "Top" page, i.e. the start of the document

           /<search-term>Return
              to start a search from the current cursor position and jump to the first result

           /Return
              to jump to the next result in an ongoing search

           q  to exit the info viewer

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

CVS commands

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

Structure

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

         cvs [ cvs_options ] cvs_command [ command_options ] [ command_args ]

       cvs

         The name of the cvs program.

       cvs_options

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

       cvs_command

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

       command_options

         Options that are specific for the command.

       command_args

         Arguments to the commands.

         There  is  unfortunately  some  confusion between cvs_options and command_options.  When
         given as a cvs_option, some options only affect some of the commands.  When given  as  a
         command_option  it  may  have a different meaning, and be accepted by more commands.  In
         other words,  do  not  take  the  above  categorization  too  seriously.   Look  at  the
         documentation 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  successful status if it found no differences, or a failure
       status if there were differences or if there was an error.  Because this behavior provides
       no  good  way to detect errors, in the future it is possible that cvs diff will be changed
       to behave like the other cvs commands.

~/.cvsrc

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

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

       The  format  of  the ~/.cvsrc file is simple.  The file is searched for a line that begins
       with the same name as the cvs_command being executed.  If  a  match  is  found,  then  the
       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
         checkout -P
         release -d

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

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

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

         cvs -z6

       causes cvs to use compression level 6.

Global options

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

       --allow-root=rootdir

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

       -a

         Authenticate all communication between the client and the server.  Only has an effect on
         the  cvs  client.   As  of  this  writing,  this is only implemented when using a GSSAPI
         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.

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

       •   The argument to the global -T option.

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

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

       •   /tmp

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

       -d cvs_root_directory

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

       -e editor

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

       -f

         Do not read the  ~/.cvsrc  file.   This  option  is  most  often  used  because  of  the
         non-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.

       -g

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

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

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

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

       -H

       --help

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

       -R

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

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

       -n

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

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

       -Q

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

       -q

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

       -r

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

       -s variable=value

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

       -t

         Trace   program   execution;  display  messages  showing  the  steps  of  cvs  activity.
         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 authenticated' in the CVS manual) or a Kerberos connection  (see  node
         'Kerberos  authenticated'  in the CVS manual).  Enabling encryption implies that message
         traffic is also authenticated.  Encryption support is not available by default; it  must
         be enabled using a special configure option, --enable-encryption, when you build cvs.

       -z level

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

Common options

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

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

       -D date_spec

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

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

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

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

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

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

       -f

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

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

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

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

       -k kflag

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

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

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

       -l

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

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

       -m message

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

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

       -n

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

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

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

       -P

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

       -p

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

       -R

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

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

       -r tag

       -r tag[:date]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

       -W

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

admin

   Administration front-end for RCS
       • Requires: repository, working directory.

       • Changes: repository.

       • Synonym: rcs

         This  is  the  cvs  interface  to assorted administrative facilities.  Some of them have
         questionable usefulness for  cvs  but  exist  for  historical  purposes.   Some  of  the
         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  commands,  except  for  those  specified using the UserAdminOptions configuration
         option in the CVSROOT/config file.  Options specified using UserAdminOptions can be  run
         by any user.  See node 'config' in the CVS manual for more on UserAdminOptions.

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

       -b[rev]

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

       -cstring

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

       -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 initialises a new rcs  file,  without  depositing  a
         revision.   With cvs, add files with the cvs add command (see node 'Adding files' in the
         CVS manual).

       -ksubst

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

       -l[rev]

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

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

       -L

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

       -mrev:msg

         Replace the log message of revision rev with msg.

       -Nname[:[rev]]

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

       -nname[:[rev]]

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

       -orange

         Deletes (outdates) the revisions given by range.

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

         If  you  are short on disc this option might help you.  But think twice before using it—
         there is no way short of restoring the latest backup  to  undo  this  command!   If  you
         delete  different  revisions  than  you  planned,  either due to carelessness or (heaven
         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

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

         ::rev

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

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

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

       -q

         Run quietly; do not print diagnostics.

       -sstate[:rev]

         Useful with cvs.  Set the state attribute of the revision rev to state.   If  rev  is  a
         branch number, assume the latest revision on that branch.  If rev is omitted, assume the
         latest revision on the default branch.  Any  identifier  is  acceptable  for  state.   A
         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 $State$ keywords (see node 'Keyword substitution' in the  CVS  manual).
         Note  that  cvs  uses  the  dead state for its own purposes (see node 'Attic' in the CVS
         manual); to take a file to or from the dead state use commands like cvs remove  and  cvs
         add (see node 'Adding and removing' in the CVS manual), not cvs admin -s.

       -t[file]

         Useful  with  cvs.   Write descriptive text from the contents of the named file into the
         RCS file, deleting the existing text.  The file pathname may  not  begin  with  -.   The
         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.

       -u[rev]

         See the option -l above, for a discussion of using this option  with  cvs.   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 the original locker to  be  sent  a  commit  notification  (see  node
         'Getting  Notified'  in  the  CVS  manual).   There  can  be no space between -u and its
         argument.

       -Vn

         In previous versions of cvs, this option meant to write  an  rcs  file  which  would  be
         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 specifying the names of the
         rcs  files.   However, cvs has always required that the rcs files used by cvs end in ,v,
         so this option has never done anything useful.

annotate

   What revision modified each line of a file?
       • Synopsis: annotate [options] files...

         rannotate [options] files...

       • Requires: repository.

       • Changes: nothing.

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

annotate options

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

       -b

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

       -l

         Local directory only, no recursion.

       -R

         Process directories recursively.

       -f

         Use head revision if tag/date not found.

       -F

         Annotate binary files.

       -r tag[:date]

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

       -D date

         Annotate file as of specified date.

annotate example

       For example:

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

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

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

checkout

   Check out sources for editing
       • Synopsis: checkout [options] modules...

       • Requires: repository.

       • Changes: working directory.

       • Synonyms: co, get

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

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

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

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

         The  files  created by checkout are created read-write, unless the -r option to cvs (see
         node 'Global options' in the CVS manual) is specified, the CVSREAD environment  variable
         is  specified  (see  node  'Environment  variables' in the CVS manual), or a watch is in
         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 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 node 'Sticky tags' in the CVS manual, for more information on sticky tags/dates.

       -f

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

       -k kflag

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

       -l

         Local; run only in current working directory.

       -n

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

       -P

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

       -p

         Pipe files to the standard output.

       -R

         Checkout directories recursively.  This option is on by default.

       -r tag[:date]

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

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

       -A

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

       -c

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

       -d dir

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

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

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

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

       -j tag

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

         With one -j option, merge changes from the ancestor revision to the  revision  specified
         with  the  -j  option,  into the working directory.  The ancestor revision is the common
         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 specification which, when used
         with branches, can limit the chosen revision to one within a specific date.  An optional
         date is specified by adding a colon (:) to the tag: -jSymbolic_Tag:Date_Specifier.

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

       -N

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

       -s

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

checkout examples

       Get a copy of the module tc:

         $ cvs checkout tc

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

         $ cvs checkout -D yesterday tc

commit

   Check files into the repository
       • Synopsis: commit [-lnRf] [-m 'log_message' | -F file] [-r revision] [files...]

       • Requires: working directory, repository.

       • Changes: repository.

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

         When all is well, an editor is invoked to allow you to enter a log message that will  be
         written  to  one or more logging programs (see node 'modules' in the CVS manual, and see
         node 'loginfo' in the CVS manual) and placed in the  rcs  file  inside  the  repository.
         This  log  message  can  be  retrieved  with  the log command; see node 'log' in the CVS
         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.

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

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.

       -r revision

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

         commit also supports these options:

       -c

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

       -F file

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

       -f

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

         Force cvs to commit a new revision even if you haven't made any changes to the file.  As
         of cvs version 1.12.10, it also causes the -c option to  be  ignored.   If  the  current
         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 commit
       changes made within these  working  sources  will  be  automatically  added  to  a  branch
       revision,  thereby  not  disturbing main-line development in any way.  For example, if you
       had to create a patch to the 1.2 version of the product, even though the  2.0  version  is
       already under development, you might do:

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

       This works automatically since the -r option is sticky.

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

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

       The  update  command  will  make  the -r EXPR1 option sticky on all files.  Note that your
       changes to the files will never be  removed  by  the  update  command.   The  commit  will
       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
       • Synopsis: diff [-lR] [-k kflag] [format_options]  [(-r  rev1[:date1]  |  -D  date1)  [-r
         rev2[:date2] | -D date2]] [files...]

       • Requires: working directory, repository.

       • Changes: nothing.

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

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

diff options

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

       -D date

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

       -k kflag

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

       -l

         Local; run only in current working directory.

       -R

         Examine directories recursively.  This option is on by default.

       -r tag[:date]

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

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

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

       -lines

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

       -a

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

       -b

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

       -B

         Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines.

       --binary

         Read and write data in binary mode.

       --brief

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

       -c

         Use the context output format.

       -C lines

       --context[=lines]

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

       --changed-group-format=format

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

       -d

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

       -e

       --ed

         Make output that is a valid ed script.

       --expand-tabs

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

       -f

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

       -I regexp

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

       --ifdef=name

         Make merged if-then-else output using name.

       --ignore-all-space

         Ignore white space when comparing lines.

       --ignore-blank-lines

         Ignore changes that just insert or delete blank lines.

       --ignore-case

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

       --ignore-matching-lines=regexp

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

       --ignore-space-change

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

       --initial-tab

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

       -L label

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

       --label=label

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

       --left-column

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

       --line-format=format

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

       --minimal

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

       -n

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

       -N

       --new-file

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

       --new-group-format=format

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

       --new-line-format=format

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

       --old-group-format=format

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

       --old-line-format=format

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

       -p

         Show which C function each change is in.

       --rcs

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

       --report-identical-files

       -s

         Report when two files are the same.

       --show-c-function

         Show which C function each change is in.

       --show-function-line=regexp

         In  context  and  unified  format,  for  each hunk of differences, show some of the last
         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.

       --text

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

       -u

         Use the unified output format.

       --unchanged-group-format=format

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

       --unchanged-line-format=format

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

       -U lines

       --unified[=lines]

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

       -w

         Ignore white space when comparing lines.

       -W columns

       --width=columns

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

       -y

         Use the side by side output format.

Line group formats

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

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

         cvs diff \

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

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

            myfile

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

         cvs diff \

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

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

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

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

            myfile

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

         cvs diff \

            --unchanged-group-format='' \

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

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

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

            myfile

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

       --old-group-format=format

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

       --new-group-format=format

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

       --changed-group-format=format

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

       --unchanged-group-format=format

         These  line  groups  contain  lines  common  to both files.  The default unchanged group
         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 newline.  Each line is
         formatted according to the old line format (see node 'Line formats' in the CVS manual).

       %>

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

       %=

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

       %%

         stands for %.

       %c'C'

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

       %c'\O'

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

       Fn

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

         e

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

         f

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

         l

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

         m

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

         n

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

         E, F, L, M, N

           Likewise, for lines in the new file.

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

       (A=B?T:E)

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

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

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

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

       %l

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

       %L

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

       %%

         stands for %.

       %c'C'

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

       %c'\O'

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

       Fn

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

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

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

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

         cvs diff \

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

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

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

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

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

            --unchanged-group-format='' \

            myfile

diff examples

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

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

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

         $ cvs diff -r RELEASE_1_0 -r EXPR1

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

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

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

         $ cvs diff -u | less

export

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

       • Requires: repository.

       • Changes: current directory.

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

         One often would like to use -kv with  cvs  export.   This  causes  any  keywords  to  be
         expanded  such that an import done at some other site will not lose the keyword revision
         information.  But be aware  that  doesn't  handle  an  export  containing  binary  files
         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[:date]

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

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

       -d dir

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

       -k subst

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

       -N

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

history

   Show repository access history
       • Synopsis:     history [-report] [-flags] [-options args] [files...]

       • Requires: the file $CVSROOT/CVSROOT/history

       • Changes: nothing.

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

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

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

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

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

history options

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

       -c

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

       -e

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

       -m module

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

       -o

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

       -T

         Report on all tags.

       -x type

         Extract a particular set of record types type from  the  cvs  history.   The  types  are
         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 manual merging).

         G

           A merge was necessary and it succeeded.

         U

           A working file was copied from the repository.

         P

           A working file was patched to match the repository.

         W

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

           One of three record types results from commit:

         A

           A file was added for the first time.

         M

           A file was modified.

         R

           A file was removed.

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

       -a

         Show  data  for  all  users  (the  default  is  to show data only for the user executing
         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 data for a particular module (you can  specify  several  -n  options  on  the  same
         command line).

       -p repository

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

       -r rev

         Show records referring to revisions since the revision  or  tag  named  rev  appears  in
         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
       • Synopsis: import [-options] repository vendortag releasetag...

       • Requires: Repository, source distribution directory.

       • Changes: repository.

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

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

         When you use import for updates  to  source  that  has  been  modified  in  your  source
         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.

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

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

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

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

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

import options

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

       -m message

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

         There are the following additional special options.

       -b branch

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

       -k subst

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

       -I name

         Specify file names that should be ignored  during  import.   You  can  use  this  option
         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.

       -W spec

         Specify  file  names  that  should  be  filtered during import.  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.

       -X

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

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

         Use  of  this  option  can  be  forced  on  a  repository-wide  basis  by  setting   the
         ImportNewFilesToVendorBranchOnly  option in CVSROOT/config (see node 'config' in the CVS
         manual).

import output

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

       U file

         The  file  already  exists  in  the  repository and has not been locally modified; a new
         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 modified; you  will  have
         to merge the changes.

       I file

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

       L file

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

import examples

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

log

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

         rlog [options] [files...]

       • Requires: repository, working directory.

       • Changes: nothing.

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

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

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

log options

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

       -b

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

       -d dates

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

         d1<d2

         d2>d1

           Select the revisions that were deposited between d1 and d2.

         <d

         d>

           Select all revisions dated d or earlier.

         d<

         >d

           Select all revisions dated d or later.

         d

           Select the single, latest revision dated d or earlier.

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

           Note that the separator is a semicolon (;).

       -h

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

       -l

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

       -N

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

       -R

         Print only the name of the rcs file.

       -rrevisions

         Print  information  about  revisions  given  in  the  comma-separated  list revisions of
         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.

         rev:

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

         rev::

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

         branch

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

         branch1:branch2

         branch1::branch2

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

         branch.

           The latest revision in branch.

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

       -S

         Suppress the header if no revisions are selected.

       -s states

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

       -t

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

       -wlogins

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

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

log examples

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

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

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

ls & rls

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

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

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

       • Changes: nothing.

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

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

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

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

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

ls & rls options

       These standard options are supported by ls & rls:

       -d

         Show dead revisions (with tag when specified).

       -e

         Display in CVS/Entries format.  This format  is  meant  to  remain  easily  parsable  by
         automation.

       -l

         Display all details.

       -P

         Don't list contents of empty directories when recursing.

       -R

         List recursively.

       -r tag[:date]

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

       -D date

         Show files from date.

rls examples

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

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

rdiff

   Create 'patch' format diffs between revisions
       • rdiff  [-flags]  [-V  vn]  (-r  tag1[:date1]  |  -D  date1) [-r tag2[:date2] | -D date2]
         modules...

       • Requires: repository.

       • Changes: nothing.

       • Synonym: patch

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

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

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

rdiff options

       These standard options are supported by rdiff  (see  node  'Common  options'  in  the  CVS
       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).

       -k kflag

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

       -l

         Local; don't descend subdirectories.

       -R

         Examine directories recursively.  This option is on by default.

       -r tag

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

         In addition to the above, these options are available:

       -c

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

       -p

         Show which C function each change is in.

       -s

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

       -t

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

       -u

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

       -V vn

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

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

release

   Indicate that a directory is no longer in use
       • release [-d] directories...

       • Requires: Working directory.

       • Changes: Working directory, history log.

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

         Use cvs release to avoid these  problems.   This  command  checks  that  no  uncommitted
         changes  are  present;  that  you  are executing it from immediately above a cvs working
         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 directory.

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

release output

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

       U file

       P file

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

       A file

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

       R file

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

       M file

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

       ? file

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

release examples

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

         $ cd ..         # You must stand immediately above the

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

server & pserver

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

         server [-c path]

       • Requires: repository, client conversation on stdin/stdout

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

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

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

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

       -c path

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

suck

   Download RCS ,v file raw
       • suck module/pa/th

       • Requires: repository

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

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

update

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

       • Requires: repository, working directory.

       • Changes: working directory.

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

update options

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

       -D date

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

       -f

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

       -k kflag

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

       -l

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

       -P

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

       -p

         Pipe files to the standard output.

       -R

         Update  directories  recursively  (default).   See  node 'Recursive behavior' in the CVS
         manual.

       -r tag[:date]

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

         These special options are also available with update.

       -A

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

       -C

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

       -d

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

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

       -I name

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

       -Wspec

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

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

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

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

update output

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

       U file

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

       P file

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

       A file

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

       R file

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

       M file

         The file is modified in  your  working  directory.

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

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

       C file

         A conflict was detected while trying to merge your changes to file with changes from the
         source  repository.   file  (the  copy  in  your working directory) is now the result of
         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 revision that
         your modified file started from.  Resolve the conflict as described in  node  'Conflicts
         example'  in  the  CVS  manual.   (Note that some systems automatically purge files that
         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  anything  in  the  source
         repository,  and  is  not in the list of files for cvs to ignore (see the description of
         the -I option, and see node 'cvsignore' in the CVS manual).

AUTHORS

       Dick Grune
              Original author of the cvs shell script version posted to comp.sources.unix in  the
              volume6  release  of  December,  1986.   Credited  with  much  of  the cvs conflict
              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. (see NOTE at top).

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

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

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

                                                                                           CVS(1)