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From: david@ukma.UUCP (David Herron, NPR Lover)
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards
Subject: Sccs vs. Rcs
Message-ID: <1742@ukma.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 10-May-85 10:57:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: ukma.1742
Posted: Fri May 10 10:57:12 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 11-May-85 04:46:13 EDT
Organization: U of Kentucky, Mathematical Sciences, Lexington KY
Lines: 40

Over last christmass break I put all our 4.2 sources under RCS.  I'm not
pleased with the results entirely.

The problem basically is this.  Part of the reason we have a source liscence
is for students to be able to study the source code.  But, the most economical
way of using rcs (disk space wise) is to keep sources checked in all the time.
If you keep them checked in, then they aren't easily available.  You have to
check them out.  But if you're not on our staff then you don't know the
super-user password and can't check them out to this directory.  You have to
check them out to your home directory.  But that requires you to become a bit
of an expert in using RCS, which you've never seen before much less used.
And you only find out you have to use rcs if there is a *super*user* around
to answer questions.

What it boils down to is.  Neither rcs nor sccs do the thing I'd like to
be able to do, using a minimum of disk space.  That is, keep the current
version "checked out" all the time, and keep ONLY diffs in the delta file.

I can ALMOST do this with rcs.  But rcs wants to keep a copy of the file
in the delta file.  That doubles the disk space used.  Which might be
worth it if we had more eagles.  Buuutttt....

I've been thinking about this off and on for a couple of weeks and I've
decided that the editor needs to be brought in on the act.  i.e. we need
a front end for the editor which will save changes away automatically.
But it also shouldn't get in the way of using the editor either.

(Kind of like the description for Xanadu I read once.  Maybe I'll dig that
back out again.)

Any ideas?
-- 
--- David Herron
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