Document process of merging into RCS tree

[VincentMcIntyre]

For the next few weeks we will have to track changes in an RCS branch.

We need to document

• how to create the branch
• how to check files out from and check changes into that branch
• how to merge? probably won't try to merge until we move to subversion.

[VincentMcIntyre]

Branching is done on a per file basis. And by default co will take the latest revision. So we need to take care that files in the new branch are easily identifiable as such, by embedding an easily-noticed comment block at the top of the file, for example:

C     ************************** Version 5 Branch ************************
C     This file is part of a major new revision of MIRIAD.
C     If you want to change the 'default' branch, ci -u this file and do
C         co -l -r1 <filename>
C     ********************************************************************

One can control which branch gets checked out by default with rcs -b. Probably the "old" branch should be the default.

Version numbering: the 'ATNF' version of MIRIAD is often referred to as version 3; largely because the BIMA version calls itself version 4. So we could go with 3 or 5 as the major version. I suggest using 5 because this branch will incorporate some major changes, down the track.

To create a branch (for any given file in /nfs/atapplic/miriad/)

  cd /nfs/atapplic/miriad/prog
  co -l foo.for
  vi foo.for    (embed some comment about the branching)
  ci -r5 -u foo.for
  # set the default branch
  rcs -b1 foo.for

make a change to a file along the new branch:

  co -l -r5 foo.for
  vi foo.for
  ci -u foo.for

make a change to a file along the old branch:

  co -l -r1 foo.for
  vi foo.for
  ci -u foo.for

Merging is probably best left until we have things in subversion.

[VincentMcIntyre]

The merge has been done quicker than expected, rendering this irrelevant.

[VincentMcIntyre]

add 1h to account for what work was done on this