This is a system of commands that you can use to replace your native version control system command
(e.g. git or svn). Why would you want to do this? Here are some reasons:
- You have to work with multiple version control systems (e.g. both CVS and Subversion, or both Subversion and Git), and you'd like to use the same set of commands for all of them.
- You have a group of developers who need to do certain things the same way as each other (a.k.a. a "policy"), and you want a convenient way for everyone to do that.
- You want to divide your working copy directories up differently than how your central repository is divvied up. (This is most common in CVS or Subversion, where one repo might contain several different logical projects.)
- Your VC system doesn't work the way you want it to, and you'd like a better solution than just cobbling together a bunch of scripts and aliases.
VCtools aims to solve all of these issues, although it may not achieve them all yet. See "History" below for more details.
The first version of VCtools was written in 1999, for CVS only (as Subversion and Git didn't exist yet!). In 2004, support for Subversion was added. In 2011, some support for Git was added, but integration with the other two proved tricky. In 2013, a complete rewrite of the system was begun with greater flexibility and customization as a goal.
For a whole lot more interesting info, check out this overview of the project from circa 2008. (Don't forget: that document predates any Git work.)
Right now, installation isn't standardized. In particular, you can't install this like a typical CPAN-style distribution. That having been said, some effort has been gone to to make sure you don't really need to install anything. Try this simplistic process:
cd ~/wherever/you/like
git clone https://github.com/barefootcoder/VCtools.git
Then add this to your particular shell's startup script (typically .bashrc or .tcshrc):
alias vc=~/wherever/you/like/VCtools/bin/vc # for bash-style shells
alias vc ~/wherever/you/like/VCtools/bin/vc # for csh-style shells
And then all you need is a config file. To get a very basic one, run any vc command:
vc help # always an easy one
and it should not only generate a config which should be enough to get you going, but also check for and help you install any Perl module prerequisites it needs. You may need to run it a few times before it takes care of everything; just keep doing it over and over until it tells you what the available commands are.
Create an issue for the GitHub repository. You can also fork and make a pull request, but it might be helpful to discuss it first via an issue.
Artistic License. See the LICENSE
file for full details.