CVS Best Practices

Vivek Venugopalan

<vivekv at yahoo dot com>
Revision History                                                             
Revision 0.7            2005-10-15             Revised by: vv                
A bunch of minor fixes as suggested by readers.                              
Revision 0.6            2002-09-10             Revised by: vv                
Added content related to tagging and daily builds. Changed Linuxdoc URLs to  
tldp. Fixed stale links and added other corrections suggested by readers.    
Revision 0.5            2002-08-25             Revised by: vv                
Fixed some more errors in the document and added references to other CVS     
sources and some server side scripting                                       
Revision 0.4            2002-03-10             Revised by: vv                
Added new email address, Added an example flow to show how the practices help
Revision 0.3            2001-12-06             Revised by: vv                
Grammatical errors cleanup                                                   
Revision 0.2            2001-11-27             Revised by: vv                
Incorporated first round of feedback and some minor fixes                    
Revision 0.1            2001-11-20             Revised by: vv                
Created                                                                      
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction
    1.1. Copyright Information
    1.2. Disclaimer
    1.3. New Versions
    1.4. Credits
    1.5. Feedback
   
   
2. Focus Areas
3. Using GUI Tools
    3.1. Use GUI CVS client
   
   
4. Developer Sandbox
    4.1. Keep System clocks in Sync
    4.2. Do not share the sandbox
    4.3. Stay in sync with the repository
    4.4. Do not work outside the sandbox
    4.5. Cleanup after Completion
    4.6. Check-in Often
   
   
5. CVS Server Configuration
    5.1. CVS access control
    5.2. Server side scripting
    5.3. Server Notification
   
   
6. Branching and Merging
    6.1. Assign ownership to Trunk and Branches
    6.2. Tag each release
    6.3. Create a branch after each release
    6.4. Make bug fixes to branches only
    6.5. Make patch releases from branches only
   
   
7. Change Propagation
    7.1. Merge branch with the trunk after release
   
   
8. Software Builds
    8.1. Build Early and Build Often (BEBO)
    8.2. Automate build Process completely
    8.3. All necessary files must be checked-in before build
   
   
9. Institutionalize CVS in the Organization
    9.1. Implement Change Management Process
    9.2. Make CVS Usage part of Objectives
    9.3. Collect metrics on CVS usage
   
   
10. Best Practices in Action
    10.1. Inception
    10.2. Development and Delivery
   
   
11. Conclusion
A. GNU Free Documentation License
    0. Preamble
    1. Applicability and Definitions
    2. Verbatim Copying
    3. Copying in Quantity
    4. Modifications
    5. Combining Documents
    6. Collections of Documents
    7. Aggregation with Independent Works
    8. Translation
    9. Termination
    10. Future Revisions of this License
    How to use this License for your documents
   
   

   
    This article explores some of the best practices that can be adopted
    while using CVS as the configuration management tool in your software
    projects.
   
   
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1. Introduction

        Men have become the tools of their tools.                           
                                   --Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)        

This article outlines some of the best practices that can be adopted when
Concurrent Versions System is used as the configuration management tool in
your software project.

Concurrent Versions System (CVS) is an [http://www.opensource.org] Open
Source configuration management tool that is now being looked at seriously by
many commercial organizations as a viable alternative to other commercial
Software configuration management tools.

This spotlight on CVS has led to the inevitable question of best practices
for deploying CVS as the backbone SCM tool for large software development
projects. Having answered this question many times verbally as a bunch of 
"gotchas" on CVS, it was time to put down on paper some of the best practices
that will work well for CVS based projects.

Note This paper assumes that the reader is familiar with the fundamentals of 
     software version control. Including features like branching, merging,   
     tagging (labelling) etc., offered by modern version control tools such  
     as CVS                                                                  
                                                                             
     Further, This paper is not an introduction to CVS and its usage. There  
     are excellent articles available on the net for the same. This paper    
     assumes that the reader is familiar with CVS commands and is looking at 
     deploying CVS in his or her organization. Some of the popular CVS       
     related links that can provide CVS education are.                       
                                                                             
      1. The [http://ximbiot.com/cvs/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page]         
         Concurrent Versions System site where current informaton about CVS  
         is available. Including the [http://ximbiot.com/cvs/wiki/index.php? 
         title=Cederqvist] CVS manual.                                       
                                                                             
      2. Karl Fogel's book, Open Source Development with CVS is available    
         online.                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
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1.1. Copyright Information

This document is Copyright © 2001 Vivek Venugopalan. Permission is granted to
copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free
Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free
Software Foundation with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no
Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license can be found in Appendix A.

This document may be reproduced and distributed in whole or in part, in any
medium physical or electronic, as long as this copyright notice is retained
on all copies. Commercial redistribution is allowed and encouraged; however,
the author would like to be notified of any such distributions.

All translations, derivative works, or aggregate works incorporating this
document must be covered under this copyright notice. That is, you may not
produce a derivative work from this document and impose additional
restrictions on its distribution. Exceptions to these rules may be granted
under certain conditions; please contact the author at the address given
below.

In short, we wish to promote dissemination of this information through as
many channels as possible. However, we do wish to retain copyright on the
document, and would like to be notified of any plans to redistribute the
same.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.2. Disclaimer

No liability for the contents of this document can be accepted. Use the
concepts, examples and other content at your own risk. As this is a new
edition of this document, there may be errors and inaccuracies that may of
course be damaging to your system. Proceed with caution, and although this is
highly unlikely, the author(s) do not take any responsibility whatsoever.

All copyrights are held by their respective owners, unless specifically noted
otherwise. Use of a term in this document should not be regarded as affecting
the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Naming of particular products or brands should not be seen as endorsements.

You are strongly recommended to take a backup of your system before major
installation and backups at regular intervals.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.3. New Versions

This document is Version : 0.7.

The latest version of this document can be obtained from (In the order of
latest version availability)

 1.  [http://www.sanchivi.com/cm/cvs-bestpractices/index.html] My website
   
 2.  [http://tldp.org/REF/CVS-BestPractices/html/index.html] The linux
    documentation project
   

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1.4. Credits

The list of people who have provided information and correction for this
paper in no particular order are.

 1. Jens-Uwe Mager
   
 2. Jorgen Grahn
   
 3. Thomas S. Urban
   
 4. Cam Mayor
   
 5. Sally Miller
   
 6. Niels Jakob Darger
   

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.5. Feedback

Feedback is most certainly welcome for this document. Without your
submissions and input, this document wouldn't exist. Please send your
additions, comments and criticisms to the following email address : <vivekv
at yahoo dot com>.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Focus Areas

The focus areas for best practice are

 1. GUI Tools
   
      + Use GUI CVS client
       
   
 2. Developer Sandbox
   
      + Keep System clocks in Sync
       
      + Do not share the sandbox
       
      + Stay in sync with the repository
       
      + Do not work outside the sandbox
       
      + Cleanup after Completion
       
      + Check-in Often
       
   
 3. CVS Server Configuration
   
      + CVS access control
       
      + Server side scripting
       
      + Server Notification
       
   
 4. Branching and Merging
   
      + Assign ownership to Trunk and Branches
       
      + Tag each release
       
      + Create a branch after each release
       
      + Make bug fixes to branches only
       
      + Make patch releases from branches only
       
   
 5. Change Propagation
   
      + Merge branch with the trunk after release
       
   
 6. Software Builds
   
      + Build Early and Build Often
       
      + Automate build Process completely
       
      + All necessary files must be checked-in before build
       
   
 7. Institutionalize CVS in the Organization
   
      + Implement Change Management Process
       
      + Make CVS Usage part of Objectives
       
      + Collect metrics on CVS usage
       
   

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3. Using GUI Tools

The traditional interface available for CVS is the command-line client. There
has also been a slew of GUI client applications that can "talk" to a CVS
server. These GUI clients provide a "point and click" interface to the CVS
repository.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.1. Use GUI CVS client

This paper recommends using such GUI clients during the initial deployment of
CVS in an organization.

Developers typically use integrated development environments that have the CM
tools integrated into them. These tools minimize the learning for the
developers about the intricacies of CVS usage and instead allow them to be
productive from day one. Developers who are accustomed to other CM tools will
find the CVS command-line interface daunting. The adoption and usage of CVS
can be improved by using GUI tools for CVS clients.

GUI tools for CVS are available at [http://cvsgui.sourceforge.net/] http://
cvsgui.sourceforge.net/. GUI interfaces are available for most of the popular
platforms (Windows, Mac and Linux). In addition, on the Windows platform
there is an SCC extension that allows integration of CVS as the configuration
control tool with popular IDE.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Developer Sandbox

The developer "sandbox" is where each developer keeps his or her working copy
of the code base. In CVS this is referred to as the working directory. This
is where they build, test and debug the modules that they are working on. A
sandbox can also be the area where the staging build or the production build
is done. Changes made in the work area are checked into the CVS repository.
In addition, changes made in the repository by others have to be updated in
the sandbox on a regular basis.

The best practices related to developers sandbox are:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.1. Keep System clocks in Sync

CVS tracks change to source files by using the timestamp on the file. If each
client system date and time is not in sync, there is a definite possibility
of CVS getting confused. Thus system clocks must be kept in sync by use of a
central time server or similar mechanism.

CVS is designed from ground up to handle multiple timezones. As long as the
host operating system has been setup and configured correctly, CVS will be
able to track changes correctly.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.2. Do not share the sandbox

Sandboxes have to be unique for each developer or purpose. They should not be
used for multiple things at the same time. A sandbox can be a working area
for a developer or the build area for the final release. If such sandboxes
are shared, then the owner of the sandbox will not be aware of the changes
made to the files resulting in confusion.

In CVS, the sandbox is created automatically when a working copy is checked
out for a CVS project using the cvs checkout {project-name} command.

In very large projects, it does not make sense for the developers to
check-out the entire source into the local sandbox. In such cases, they can
take the binaries generated by the build team on a regular basis for all
those components of the application that is not changed by them and only
check-out the parts that are built by the developer.

For example, in a Java project, the build team can keep the results of their
last successful build in a standard location in the form of JAR files on the
network file servers. Individual developers will use a standard classpath
setup that has the network drives mounted on standard paths. Thus, the
developers will automatically get the latest version of the files as required
by them.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.3. Stay in sync with the repository

To gain the benefits of working within a sandbox as mentioned above, the
developer must keep his or her sandbox in sync with the main repository. A
regular cvs update with the appropriate tag or branch name will ensure that
the sandboxes are kept up to date.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.4. Do not work outside the sandbox

The sandbox can be thought of as a controlled area within which CVS can track
for changes made to the various source files. Files belonging to other
developers will be automatically updated by CVS in the developer's sandbox.
Thus the developer who lives within the sandbox will stand to gain a lot of
benefits of concurrent development.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.5. Cleanup after Completion

Make sure that the sandbox is cleaned up after completion of work on the
files. Cleanup can be done in CVS by using the cvs release command. This
ensures that no old version of the files exists in the development sandbox.
As explained previously, pre-built binaries from the build team can be used
to ensure that all the parts of the application are available to the
developer without the need for a complete compilation in the sandbox.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.6. Check-in Often

To help other developers keep their code in sync with your code, you must
check-in your code often into the CVS repository. The best practice would be
to check-in soon as a piece of code is completed, reviewed and tested,
check-in the changes with cvs commit to ensure that your changes are
committed to the CVS repository.

CVS promotes concurrent development. Concurrent development is possible only
if all the other developers are aware of the ongoing changes on a regular
basis. This awareness can be termed as "situation awareness"

Warning One of the "bad" practices that commonly occur is the sharing of     
        files between developers by email. This works against most of the    
        best practices mentioned above. To share updates between two         
        developers, CVS must be used as the communication medium. This will  
        ensure that CVS is "aware" of the changes and can track them. Thus,  
        audit trail can be established if necessary.                         
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5. CVS Server Configuration

This section deals with best practices for CVS server side setup and
configuration.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.1. CVS access control

One of the important questions that I have been asked time and again is the
ability to have access control for files/folders/branches etc., within the
CVS repository for various users. Unfortunately CVS does not come with a
built in Access control capability but it does support a rudimentary form of
access control through the readers/writers files in the CVSROOT repository. I
have put together a set of scripts that use the readers/writers files to
provide a slightly useable version of access control. This is available at
[http://cvspermissions.sarovar.org] http://cvspermissions.sarovar.org as an
Open Source project. Feel free to use it and let me know how it works for
you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.2. Server side scripting

Server side scripting refers to the ability to make CVS server execute
certain scripts when an event occurs. A common script that helps is to verify
that all cvs commits contain acomment entered by the developer. The process
involves setting up the CVSROOT/verifymsg file to run a script when a file is
checked-in.
------CVSROOT/verifymsg---------                                             
                                                                             
#Set the verifymsg file to fire a script                                     
DEFAULT /usr/local/bin/validate-cvs-log.sh                                   
                                                                             
                                                                             
------/usr/local/bin/validate-cvs-log.sh ---------                           
                                                                             
#!/bin/sh                                                                    
#                                                                            
# validate-cvs-log.sh logfile                                                
                                                                             
# test that log message has some characters in it                            
if [ `cat $1 | wc -c ` -lt 10 ] ; then                                       
echo "log message too short; please enter a description for the changes"     
    exit 1                                                                   
else                                                                         
    exit 0                                                                   
fi                                                                           
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.3. Server Notification

The CVS server can be configured to notify through e-mails in case of a
commit happening. This can be used to verify whether commits are occurring
during the course of a daily/release build. If such commits occur, based on
the project policy, the commits can be ignored or the entire build
automatically restarted.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Branching and Merging

Branching in CVS splits a project's development into separate, parallel
histories. Changes made on one branch do not affect the other branches.
Branching can be used extensively to maintain multiple versions of a product
for providing support and new features.

Merging converges the branches back to the main trunk. In a merge, CVS
calculates the changes made on the branch between the point where it diverged
from the trunk and the branch's tip (its most recent state), then applies
those differences to the project at the tip of the trunk.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.1. Assign ownership to Trunk and Branches

The main trunk of the source tree and the various branches should have a
owner assigned who will be responsible for.

 1. Keep the list of configurable items for the branch or trunk.
   
    The owner will be the maintainer of the contents list for the branch or
    trunk. This list should contain the item name and a brief description
    about the item. This list is essential since new artifacts are always
    added to or removed from the repository on an ongoing basis. This list
    will be able to track the new additions/deletions to the repository for
    the respective branch.
   
 2. Establish a working policy for the branch or trunk.
   
    The owner will establish policies for check-in and check-out. The policy
    will define when the code can be checked in (after coding or after review
    etc.,). Who is responsible to merge changes on the same file and resolve
    conflicts (the author or the person who recently changed the file).
   
 3. Identify and document policy deviations
   
    Policies once established tend to have exceptions. The owner will be
    responsible for identifying the workaround and tracking/documenting the
    same for future use.
   
 4. Responsible for merge with the trunk
   
    The branch owner will be responsible for ensuring that the changes in the
    branch can be successfully merged with the main trunk at a reasonable
    point in time.
   

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6.2. Tag each release

As part of the release process, the entire code base must be tagged with an
identifier that can help in uniquely identifying the release. A tag gives a
label to the collection of revisions represented by one developer's working
copy (usually, that working copy is completely up to date so the tag name is
attached to the "latest and greatest" revisions in the repository).

The identifier for the tag should provide enough information to identify the
release at any point in time in the future. One suggested tag identifier is
of the form.


release_{major version #}_{minor version #}

Note As one reader pointed out to me, a good practice here is to tag the     
     release first. Checkout the entire codebase using the tag, and then     
     proceed to go through a build / deploy / test process before making the 
     actual release. This will absolutely ensure that what "leaves the door "
     is a verified and tested codebase.                                      
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.3. Create a branch after each release

After each software release, once the CVS repository is tagged, a branch has
to be immediately created. This branch will serve as the bug fix baseline for
that release. This branch is created only if the release is not a bug fix or
patch release in the first place. Patches that have to be made for this
release at any point in time in the future will be developed on this branch.
The main trunk will be used for ongoing product development.

With this arrangement, the changes in the code for the ongoing development
will be on the main trunk and the branch will provide a separate partition
for hot fixes and bug fix releases.

The identifier for the branch name can be of the form.


release_{major version #}_{minor version #}_patches
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.4. Make bug fixes to branches only

This practice extends from the previous practice of creating a separate
branch after a major release. The branch will serve as the code base for all
bug fixes and patch release that have to be made. Thus, there is a separate
repository "sandbox" where the hot fixes and patches can be developed apart
from the mainstream development.

This practice also ensures that bug fixes done to previous releases do not
mysteriously affect the mainstream version. In addition, new features added
to the mainstream version do not creep into the patch release accidentally.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.5. Make patch releases from branches only

Since all the bug fixes for a given release are done on its corresponding
branch, the patch releases are made from the branch. This ensures that there
is no confusion on the feature set that is released as part of the patch
release.

After the patch release is made, the branch has to be tagged using the
release tagging practice (see Tag each release).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7. Change Propagation

Change propagation practices explore how changes made to one version of the
application are migrated to other living versions of the application.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.1. Merge branch with the trunk after release

After each release from a branch, the changes made to the branch should be
merged with the trunk. This ensures that all the bug fixes made to the patch
release are properly incorporated into future releases of the application.

This merge could potentially be time consuming depending on the amount of
changes made to the trunk and the branch being merged. In fact, it will
probably result in a lot of conflicts in CVS resulting in manual merges.
After the merge, the trunk code base must be tested to verify that the
application is in proper working order. This must be kept in mind while
preparing the project schedule.

In the case of changes occurring on branches for a long period, these changes
can be merged to the main branch on a regular basis even before the release
is made. The frequency of merge is done based on certain logical points in
the branch's evolution. To ensure that duplicate merging does not occur, the
following practice can be adopted.

In addition to the branch tag, a tag called {branch_name}_MERGED should be
created. This is initially at the same level as the last release tag for the
branch. This tag is then "moved" after each intermediate merge by using the 
-F option. This eliminates duplicate merging issues during intermediate
merges.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

8. Software Builds

This section deals with the best practices for software builds. Build is the
process of creating the application binaries for a software release. They are
done in a periodic manner by the build teams to provide baseline binaries for
daily work.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

8.1. Build Early and Build Often (BEBO)

A variation of this adage has been around in the Open Source community called
"Release Early and Release Often" for quite some time albeit for a different
reason. BEBO helps a development team identify issues that can arise from
checking in the wrong files. BEBO will address integration issues at the
application level that might have slipped passed individual developer builds.
It will also improve the team morale when they see a working version of the
application.

Builds must be done on a regular basis. There should be a dedicated resource
(s) assigned to do the same. The entire project team must be trained to view
the daily build as an important activity and not as a chore. Builds must be
completed without any failures on a regular basis. Build failures must be a
rare event and should be treated with utmost seriousness. The project team
should ensure that successful builds are top priority on their agenda. The
seriousness can be emphasised by setting up a penalty for breaking the build.

Each build can be tagged in CVS using a standard naming convention. This can
help developers checkout a working version of the entire system from daily
builds for local development.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

8.2. Automate build Process completely

Another key practice for software builds is to automate the build process
completely. The automation process must also include automatic retrieval of
the right source files from the CVS repository. This ensures that the build
process is completely repeatable and consistent. In addition, the chances of
a build with the wrong version of the application source files are reduced to
a large degree.

By automating the build process, the task of building often becomes less
burdensome.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

8.3. All necessary files must be checked-in before build

This adage sounds trivial at first but this problem is very common even with
experienced development teams due to oversight. The problem of oversight
cannot be easily addressed since the onus is on the individual developer to
ensure that his or her file has been checked in. This practice should be
drummed into the team in the form of training and pre-build announcements to
ensure that the right version of source code is available in the repository.

Automated build process as explained above will help in catching this problem
to a certain degree since they will automatically take the source code from
the CVS repository and perform the software build. Any missed items will
surface during the build process itself (makefiles etc.,) or during the
regression testing of the product (older version of the file checked in).

A penalty based system can be setup to handle wrong check-in. Having a kitty
for a post project party to which each person who makes a wrong check-in will
contribute a fixed amount will act a good penalty system.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

9. Institutionalize CVS in the Organization

Here we will look at the best practices for institutionalizing CVS usage in
the organization.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

9.1. Implement Change Management Process

All organizations must implement a good Change management process (CMP). A
good CMP will define how changes are received, recorded, tracked, executed
and delivered. CVS provides version control for your project. Change
management addresses the "bigger picture" of how enhancements and bugs are
received, tracked and closed. CVS will play a smaller but a very important
part in this entire picture. With a formal change management process in place
in the organization, tools such as CVS will be looked at as aiding this
process instead of acting as a general development overhead.

Change management is quite a vast topic that cannot be done justice here.
Please look up other sources of information on change management.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

9.2. Make CVS Usage part of Objectives

To institutionalize CVS, it can be made as part of the performance objectives
for the developer to use CVS in the project. In addition, it can also be made
as part of the objective for the project manager to deploy CVS in his or her
project.

Compliance of this can then be reviewed as part of the appraisal cycle for
the employee.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

9.3. Collect metrics on CVS usage

CVS usage metrics can be collected in terms of percentage of deployment in
the organization, project size handled etc., This information will spur other
line managers and program managers to look at CVS as a tool that will aid
them in their daily operations.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

10. Best Practices in Action

The best way to explain the need for these best practices is by putting
together an example of a real world project scenario and show how exactly
will these best practices fit into the "bigger picture". Also, a lot of
readers have told me that the sections on Branching and Merging and Change
Propagation will require examples for better explanation. Listening to the
readers is a Good Thing so I have put together a particular project scenario
and then create a series of events to show how the best practices, if
followed, would help is making operations smoother.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

10.1. Inception

Consider a software project where version 1.0 has just been put into
production and everyone is done celebrating. The next step is to start
working on the new features of the subsequent release. Also, the users of the
system have started to use it full-time and bug reports of various levels
have started to come in.

Before jumping into new enhancements or bug fixes, the best practices for 
Branching and Merging should be followed. Few of the important practices are 
Tag each release and Create a branch after each release. These practices will
effectively established two "development environments", one for regular
enhancements and the other for bug fixes and minor enhancements on the last
release.

Let us assume that the release was tagged as


release_1_0

Then the branch was created with the branch name


release_1_0_patches
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

10.2. Development and Delivery

Now, we are ready for business. Let us examine the bug fixes and enhancements
track. Assume that there are three bugs of which two are of a high priority
that should be fixed right away (possibly within a week) and the third can be
delivered after some time (say after 4 weeks). In the middle of this schedule
there is a regular release scheduled in three weeks. Considering that we have
a busy month ahead, let us see how exactly we can use the Best practices to
ease the days ahead.

The timeline for the various release in the next month looks like this.
             Fix       Enhancement  Fix                                      
     Today   Release 1  Release    Release 2                                 
         |_______|______________|_________|                                  
                    Time -->                                                 

We have two teams, one working on the bug fix branch and another team working
on the features for the next release on the main trunk. These teams must make
sure that they start out with the right version in their sandbox.

 1.  The bug fix team will check out using the command line
   
     cvs checkout -R -r release_1_0_patches {project name}
   
 2. The team that is working on the next release will use the command line
   
     cvs checkout -R {project name}
   

As soon as the bug fix team completes the two top priority bugs, they will
update, verify a successful build and commit their changes to the bug fix
branch using the command line
 cvs update -R -r release_1_0_patches {module name}

The team should perform a build at this point to verify that the update did
not break any code on the branch. Once the build is successful, the branch
should be committed back into the repository.
 cvs commit -R -r release_1_0_patches {module name}

Build Early and Build Often : On a daily basis, each developer will check in
code to CVS and to ensure sanity of code, daily builds on the bug fixed
branch will be undertaken by checking out from CVS on a clean environment and
completely rebuilt. These daily builds can be tagged in CVS using the
following naming convention


build_1_1_yyyymmdd : for the branch
build_2_0_yyyymmdd : for the trunk

The regular process of build-test-fix is followed to make a version ready for
delivery. The tag will help developers checkout a working copy of the latest
build as and when necessary.

When the source code is released to the outside world, two practices have to
be followed.

 1. Tag each release : This ensures that the bug fix release is tagged
    correctly and so can be traced out at a later point in time if necessary.
   
 2. Merge branch with the trunk after release : This ensures that the bug fix
    is merged back into the main trunk ensuring that all future releases is a
    truly cumulative delivery.
   

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Conclusion

These best practices are meant to help software teams get a head start on
using CVS for their development. The ideas presented here have to be
constantly reviewed and evolved. I would like this to be a growing and
evolving document. Please send your comments and ideas to <vivekv at yahoo
dot com>
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A. GNU Free Documentation License

Version 1.1, March 2000

   
    Copyright (C) 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 59 Temple Place, Suite
    330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA Everyone is permitted to copy and
    distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is
    not allowed.
   
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0. Preamble

The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other written
document "free" in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone the effective
freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either
commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the
author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not being
considered responsible for modifications made by others.

This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that derivative works of
the document must themselves be free in the same sense. It complements the
GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft license designed for free
software.

We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for free
software, because free software needs free documentation: a free program
should come with manuals providing the same freedoms that the software does.
But this License is not limited to software manuals; it can be used for any
textual work, regardless of subject matter or whether it is published as a
printed book. We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose
is instruction or reference.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Applicability and Definitions

This License applies to any manual or other work that contains a notice
placed by the copyright holder saying it can be distributed under the terms
of this License. The "Document", below, refers to any such manual or work.
Any member of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as "you".

A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the Document
or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with modifications and/or
translated into another language.

A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter section of the
Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the publishers or
authors of the Document to the Document's overall subject (or to related
matters) and contains nothing that could fall directly within that overall
subject. (For example, if the Document is in part a textbook of mathematics,
a Secondary Section may not explain any mathematics.) The relationship could
be a matter of historical connection with the subject or with related
matters, or of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political
position regarding them.

The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose titles are
designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in the notice that says
that the Document is released under this License.

The "Cover Texts" are certain short passages of text that are listed, as
Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice that says that the
Document is released under this License.

A "Transparent" copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy,
represented in a format whose specification is available to the general
public, whose contents can be viewed and edited directly and
straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images composed of
pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some widely available
drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to text formatters or for
automatic translation to a variety of formats suitable for input to text
formatters. A copy made in an otherwise Transparent file format whose markup
has been designed to thwart or discourage subsequent modification by readers
is not Transparent. A copy that is not "Transparent" is called "Opaque".

Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain ASCII
without markup, Texinfo input format, LaTeX input format, SGML or XML using a
publicly available DTD, and standard-conforming simple HTML designed for
human modification. Opaque formats include PostScript, PDF, proprietary
formats that can be read and edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML
or XML for which the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally available,
and the machine-generated HTML produced by some word processors for output
purposes only.

The "Title Page" means, for a printed book, the title page itself, plus such
following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the material this License
requires to appear in the title page. For works in formats which do not have
any title page as such, "Title Page" means the text near the most prominent
appearance of the work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the
text.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Verbatim Copying

You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either commercially
or noncommercially, provided that this License, the copyright notices, and
the license notice saying this License applies to the Document are reproduced
in all copies, and that you add no other conditions whatsoever to those of
this License. You may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the
reading or further copying of the copies you make or distribute. However, you
may accept compensation in exchange for copies. If you distribute a large
enough number of copies you must also follow the conditions in section 3.

You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above, and you may
publicly display copies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Copying in Quantity

If you publish printed copies of the Document numbering more than 100, and
the Document's license notice requires Cover Texts, you must enclose the
copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all these Cover Texts:
Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and Back-Cover Texts on the back cover.
Both covers must also clearly and legibly identify you as the publisher of
these copies. The front cover must present the full title with all words of
the title equally prominent and visible. You may add other material on the
covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the covers, as long as
they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these conditions, can be
treated as verbatim copying in other respects.

If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit legibly, you
should put the first ones listed (as many as fit reasonably) on the actual
cover, and continue the rest onto adjacent pages.

If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document numbering more
than 100, you must either include a machine-readable Transparent copy along
with each Opaque copy, or state in or with each Opaque copy a
publicly-accessible computer-network location containing a complete
Transparent copy of the Document, free of added material, which the general
network-using public has access to download anonymously at no charge using
public-standard network protocols. If you use the latter option, you must
take reasonably prudent steps, when you begin distribution of Opaque copies
in quantity, to ensure that this Transparent copy will remain thus accessible
at the stated location until at least one year after the last time you
distribute an Opaque copy (directly or through your agents or retailers) of
that edition to the public.

It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of the
Document well before redistributing any large number of copies, to give them
a chance to provide you with an updated version of the Document.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Modifications

You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document under the
conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you release the Modified
Version under precisely this License, with the Modified Version filling the
role of the Document, thus licensing distribution and modification of the
Modified Version to whoever possesses a copy of it. In addition, you must do
these things in the Modified Version:

 A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title distinct from
    that of the Document, and from those of previous versions (which should,
    if there were any, be listed in the History section of the Document). You
    may use the same title as a previous version if the original publisher of
    that version gives permission.
   
 B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or entities
    responsible for authorship of the modifications in the Modified Version,
    together with at least five of the principal authors of the Document (all
    of its principal authors, if it has less than five).
   
 C. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the Modified
    Version, as the publisher.
   
 D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
   
 E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications adjacent to
    the other copyright notices.
   
 F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license notice giving
    the public permission to use the Modified Version under the terms of this
    License, in the form shown in the Addendum below.
   
 G. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant Sections and
    required Cover Texts given in the Document's license notice.
   
 H. Include an unaltered copy of this License.
   
 I. Preserve the section entitled "History", and its title, and add to it an
    item stating at least the title, year, new authors, and publisher of the
    Modified Version as given on the Title Page. If there is no section
    entitled "History" in the Document, create one stating the title, year,
    authors, and publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page, then
    add an item describing the Modified Version as stated in the previous
    sentence.
   
 J. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document for public
    access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and likewise the network
    locations given in the Document for previous versions it was based on.
    These may be placed in the "History" section. You may omit a network
    location for a work that was published at least four years before the
    Document itself, or if the original publisher of the version it refers to
    gives permission.
   
 K. In any section entitled "Acknowledgements" or "Dedications", preserve the
    section's title, and preserve in the section all the substance and tone
    of each of the contributor acknowledgements and/or dedications given
    therein.
   
 L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered in their
    text and in their titles. Section numbers or the equivalent are not
    considered part of the section titles.
   
 M. Delete any section entitled "Endorsements". Such a section may not be
    included in the Modified Version.
   
 N. Do not retitle any existing section as "Endorsements" or to conflict in
    title with any Invariant Section.
   

If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or appendices that
qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no material copied from the
Document, you may at your option designate some or all of these sections as
invariant. To do this, add their titles to the list of Invariant Sections in
the Modified Version's license notice. These titles must be distinct from any
other section titles.

You may add a section entitled "Endorsements", provided it contains nothing
but endorsements of your Modified Version by various parties--for example,
statements of peer review or that the text has been approved by an
organization as the authoritative definition of a standard.

You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text, and a
passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end of the list of
Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one passage of Front-Cover Text and
one of Back-Cover Text may be added by (or through arrangements made by) any
one entity. If the Document already includes a cover text for the same cover,
previously added by you or by arrangement made by the same entity you are
acting on behalf of, you may not add another; but you may replace the old
one, on explicit permission from the previous publisher that added the old
one.

The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this License give
permission to use their names for publicity for or to assert or imply
endorsement of any Modified Version.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Combining Documents

You may combine the Document with other documents released under this
License, under the terms defined in section 4 above for modified versions,
provided that you include in the combination all of the Invariant Sections of
all of the original documents, unmodified, and list them all as Invariant
Sections of your combined work in its license notice.

The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and multiple
identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a single copy. If there are
multiple Invariant Sections with the same name but different contents, make
the title of each such section unique by adding at the end of it, in
parentheses, the name of the original author or publisher of that section if
known, or else a unique number. Make the same adjustment to the section
titles in the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the
combined work.

In the combination, you must combine any sections entitled "History" in the
various original documents, forming one section entitled "History"; likewise
combine any sections entitled "Acknowledgements", and any sections entitled
"Dedications". You must delete all sections entitled "Endorsements."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Collections of Documents

You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other documents
released under this License, and replace the individual copies of this
License in the various documents with a single copy that is included in the
collection, provided that you follow the rules of this License for verbatim
copying of each of the documents in all other respects.

You may extract a single document from such a collection, and distribute it
individually under this License, provided you insert a copy of this License
into the extracted document, and follow this License in all other respects
regarding verbatim copying of that document.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7. Aggregation with Independent Works

A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other separate and
independent documents or works, in or on a volume of a storage or
distribution medium, does not as a whole count as a Modified Version of the
Document, provided no compilation copyright is claimed for the compilation.
Such a compilation is called an "aggregate", and this License does not apply
to the other self-contained works thus compiled with the Document, on account
of their being thus compiled, if they are not themselves derivative works of
the Document.

If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these copies of
the Document, then if the Document is less than one quarter of the entire
aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be placed on covers that surround
only the Document within the aggregate. Otherwise they must appear on covers
around the whole aggregate.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

8. Translation

Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may distribute
translations of the Document under the terms of section 4. Replacing
Invariant Sections with translations requires special permission from their
copyright holders, but you may include translations of some or all Invariant
Sections in addition to the original versions of these Invariant Sections.
You may include a translation of this License provided that you also include
the original English version of this License. In case of a disagreement
between the translation and the original English version of this License, the
original English version will prevail.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

9. Termination

You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document except as
expressly provided for under this License. Any other attempt to copy, modify,
sublicense or distribute the Document is void, and will automatically
terminate your rights under this License. However, parties who have received
copies, or rights, from you under this License will not have their licenses
terminated so long as such parties remain in full compliance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

10. Future Revisions of this License

The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of the GNU
Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new versions will be
similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to address
new problems or concerns. See [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/] http://
www.gnu.org/copyleft/.

Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version number. If the
Document specifies that a particular numbered version of this License "or any
later version" applies to it, you have the option of following the terms and
conditions either of that specified version or of any later version that has
been published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the
Document does not specify a version number of this License, you may choose
any version ever published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

How to use this License for your documents

To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of the
License in the document and put the following copyright and license notices
just after the title page:

   
      Copyright (c) YEAR YOUR NAME. Permission is granted to copy, distribute
    and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
    License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software
    Foundation; with the Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with the
    Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts being LIST. A
    copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free
    Documentation License".
   
If you have no Invariant Sections, write "with no Invariant Sections" instead
of saying which ones are invariant. If you have no Front-Cover Texts, write
"no Front-Cover Texts" instead of "Front-Cover Texts being LIST"; likewise
for Back-Cover Texts.

If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we recommend
releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of free software
license, such as the GNU General Public License, to permit their use in free
software.