How to Change a File in the Branch

• Check Out Branch
  
  $ cd ~/work-rel-3-0
$ cvs co -r rel-3-0 java

  
• ...do your changes to the branch...
  
  
• Commit your changes to the branch
  
  $ cvs update [file-name]
$ cvs commit [file name]

  NOTE: the update and commit commands don't need the -r option. They know you are working in the branch.

How To Merge Branch Changes back to the Main Trunk

• Check Out Main Trunk
  
  $ cd ~/work
$ cvs co java

• Merge the branch changes back to the Trunk
  
  $ cvs update -j rel-3-0 [file name]
$ cvs commit [file name]

  NOTE: the update command is "joining" the rel-3-0 branch into the current copy of the file.

To Merge Changes from the Main Trunk to the Branch

• Commit your changes to the main trunk as normal.
  
  
• Check Out the Branch
  
  $ cd ~/work-rel-3-0
$ cvs co -r rel-3-0 java

• Join the changes from the main trunk into the branch
  
  $ cvs update -j HEAD [file name]
$ cvs commit [file name]

  NOTE: the update command is "joining" from the HEAD of the main trunk into the current copy of the file. HEAD is a keyword used by CVS.

How do I tell if I checked out a branch or the main trunk?

To Determine if you are working on a branch or the main trunck, run the following command

$ cvs status [file name]

The "Sticky Tag" field will tell you whether the file you specified is on a branch or not. It will say "none" if it's on the main trunk.

How do I see which files have been modified?

Run the following command:

$ cvs -q -n update

This will show you which files have been changed in your current directory (and all subdirectories) without actually updating any files. The -n option to cvs always shows you the output from a CVS command without actually performing the command. The -q option stands for "quiet" and makes the output less verbose.

Example .cvsrc file

The $HOME/.cvsrc file can be used to set default options for any of the cvs commands. Below is an example of some settings:

cvs -q
cvs update -d