Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!spool.mu.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!bloom-picayune.mit.edu!athena.mit.edu!jik From: jik@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan I. Kamens) Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Subject: Re: RCS info wanted Message-ID: <1991Mar15.175701.17723@athena.mit.edu> Date: 15 Mar 91 17:57:01 GMT References: Sender: news@athena.mit.edu (News system) Distribution: comp Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lines: 35 In article , amir@pilat.Israel.Silvaco.COM (Amir J. Katz (Xpert)) writes: |> There is an alternative to SCCS, called RCS (Revision Control System). |> Questions: |> 1. Is this a commercial product or public domain ? It is distributed by the Free Software Foundation under the GNU Public License, which means that it is not public domain, but it is freely redistributable as long as long as you meet the conditions of the GPL (which is, basically, that you give the sources for it to anyone who asks and that you send any changes you make back to the authors; but don't take my word for it, read the GPL). |> 2. Where can I get more information about RCS ? Anonymous ftp to prep.ai.mit.edu and grab the file /pub/gnu/rcs-5.5.tar.Z. |> 3. Is it better than SCCS ? If so, why ? This is a recurring debate on the net. Which one is better is pretty much a matter of personal opinion, so your best bet is to grab the RCS sources and take a look at them and decide for yourself. One of the biggest differences between the two (in my opinion) is that the basic SCCS commands are very primitive and almost impossible for the user to "just use" -- you almost certainly need some sort of front-end in order to use SCCS effectively. RCS, on the other hand, has useful utilities that can be used by the user without any front-end (which isn't to say that front-ends for RCS don't exist; they do, for example CVS, which is also distributed by the FSF). -- Jonathan Kamens USnail: MIT Project Athena 11 Ashford Terrace jik@Athena.MIT.EDU Allston, MA 02134 Office: 617-253-8085 Home: 617-782-0710