CVS Commands Command Abbrevs Description add ad new Add a new file/directory to the repository admin adm rcs Administration front end for rcs annotate ann For each line, show the rev number, author, date, and result of the latest revision checkout co get Checkout sources for editing commit ci com Check files into the repository diff di dif Show differences between revisions edit --- Get ready to edit a watched file editors --- See who is editing a watched file export exp ex Export sources from CVS, similar to checkout history hi his Show repository access history import im imp Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches init --- Create a CVS repository if it doesn't exist log lo rlog Print out history information for files login logon lgn Prompt for password for authenticating server. logout --- Removes entry in .cvspass for remote repository. rdiff patch pa Create 'patch' format diffs between releases release --- Indicate that a Module is no longer in use remove --- Remove an entry from the repository rtag rt rfreeze Add a symbolic tag to a module status st stat Display status information on checked out files tag ta freeze Add a symbolic tag to checked out version of files unedit --- Undo an edit command update up upd Bring work tree in sync with repository watch --- Set watches watchers --- See who is watching a file

FAQs (by first time CVS users

Q:

Are revision numbers maintained on a per file basis or for the whole repository? I.e., if I check in a revision with only a few files revised, are all files in the repository marked to show the same revision number?

A: (Answering my own question, or at least attempting to) AFAICT, revision numbers are maintained on a per file basis. If I wanted something to "mark" an event across the whole repository, I could "tag" the repository (AFAICT).

-- RandyKramer - 03 Jul 2001

A2: Yes you are right, revision numbers are per file. Even though there are ways to force revision numbers in files that have not changed, or to step the revision numbers in other ways than a simple increment, these numbers are mostly for cvs internal handling (and your reference). The real revision numbers, i.e. the ones that we assign to a release, are intruduced through text tags (tag or rtag), that mark all the files across the revision with the same name.

-- EdgarBrown - 04 Jul 2001

Edgar -- thanks!

Aside: Someday if I feel more ambitious, I may refactor this page, possibly starting a separate FAQ page, and then I'd integrate your comments and mine and list us both as contributors. I guess that should not be unexpected on a wiki, but I don't see it done very often on TWiki so I wanted to mention it. If you have any objection let me know.

PS: (To Peter Thoeny?) -- I don't think this is terribly off-topic for TWiki, and if you agree maybe we should consider adding a topic classification like "Aids to Developers" (pick a better name), or two classifications like, "General Aids to Developers" and "TWiki Information for Developers". (Or should we delete the category table, or just leave it at "Select one..." which also implies unclassified or miscellaneous.)

-- RandyKramer - 05 Jul 2001