(cvsbook.info)Writing Your Own Tools


Writing Your Own Tools
======================

CVS can at times seem like a bewildering collection of improvised
standards.  There's RCS format, various output formats (history,
annotate, log, update, and so on), several repository administrative
file formats, working copy administrative file formats, the
client/server protocol, the lockfile protocol....  (Are you numb yet? I
could keep going, you know.)

Fortunately, these standards remain fairly consistent from release to
release - so if you're trying to write a tool to work with CVS, you at
least don't have to worry about hitting a moving target.  For every
internal standard, there are usually a few people on the
<info-cvs@gnu.org> mailing list who know it extremely well (several of
them helped me out during the writing of this book).  There is also the
documentation that comes with the CVS distribution (especially
doc/cvs.texinfo, doc/cvsclient.texi, and doc/RCSFILES).  Finally, there
is the CVS source code itself, the last word on any question of
implementation or behavior.

With all of this at your disposal, there's no reason to hesitate.  If
you can think of some utility that would make your life with CVS easier,
go ahead and write it - chances are other people have been wanting it,
too.  Unlike a change to CVS itself, a small, standalone external
utility can get wide distribution very quickly, resulting in quicker
feedback for its author and faster bug fixes for all of the users.

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