~bzr-pqm/bzr/bzr.dev

2977.1.6 by Ian Clatworthy
first cut at Central development chapter
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Using checkouts
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===============
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Turning a branch into a checkout
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--------------------------------
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If you have a local branch and wish to make it a checkout, use the
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``bind`` command like this::
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3918.1.1 by Jari Aalto
In user guide, use 'PROJECT' as a metavariable not 'X-repo'
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  bzr bind sftp://centralhost/srv/bzr/PROJECT/trunk
2977.1.6 by Ian Clatworthy
first cut at Central development chapter
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This is necessary, for example, after creating a central branch using
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``push`` as illustrated in the previous section.
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After this, commits will be applied to the bound branch before
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being applied locally.
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Turning a checkout into a branch
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--------------------------------
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If you have a checkout and wish to make it a normal branch, use the
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``unbind`` command like this::
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  bzr unbind
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After this, commits will only be applied locally.
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Getting a checkout
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------------------
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When working in a team using a central branch, one person needs
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to provide some initial content as shown in the previous section.
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After that, each person should use the ``checkout`` command to
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create their local checkout, i.e. the sandbox in which they
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will make their changes.
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Unlike Subversion and CVS, in Bazaar the ``checkout`` command creates a
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local full copy of history in addition to creating a working tree holding
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the latest content. This means that operations such as ``diff`` and ``log``
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are fast and can still be used when disconnected from the central location.
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Getting a lightweight checkout
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------------------------------
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While Bazaar does its best to efficiently store version history, there
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are occasions when the history is simply not wanted. For example, if your
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team is managing the content of a web site using Bazaar with a
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central repository, then your release process might be as simple as
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updating a checkout of the content on the public web server. In this
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case, you probably don't want the history downloaded to that location
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as doing so:
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 * wastes disk space holding history that isn't needed there
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 * exposes a Bazaar branch that you may want kept private.
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To get a history-less checkout in Bazaar, use the ``--lightweight``
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option like this::
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3918.1.1 by Jari Aalto
In user guide, use 'PROJECT' as a metavariable not 'X-repo'
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  bzr checkout --lightweight sftp://centralhost/srv/bzr/PROJECT/trunk
2977.1.6 by Ian Clatworthy
first cut at Central development chapter
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Of course, many of the benefits of a normal checkout are lost by doing
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this but that's a tradeoff you can make if and when it makes sense.
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3779.2.1 by mernst at mit
Improved documentation of stacked and lightweight branches
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The ``--lightweight`` option only applies to checkouts, not to all branches.
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2977.1.6 by Ian Clatworthy
first cut at Central development chapter
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Note: If your code base is really large and disk space on your computer
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is limited, lightweight checkouts may be the right choice for you.
3779.2.1 by mernst at mit
Improved documentation of stacked and lightweight branches
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Be sure to consider all your options though including
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`shared repositories <#a-reminder-about-shared-repositories>`_,
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`stacked branches <#using-stacked-branches>`_, and `reusing a checkout`_.
2977.1.6 by Ian Clatworthy
first cut at Central development chapter
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Updating to the latest content
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------------------------------
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One of the important aspects of working in lockstep with others is
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keeping your checkout up to date with the latest changes made to
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the central branch. Just as you would in Subversion or CVS, you do
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this in Bazaar by using the ``update`` command like this::
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  bzr update
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This gets any new revisions available in the bound branch and
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merges your local changes, if any.
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Handling commit failures
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------------------------
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Note that your checkout *must* be up to date with the bound branch
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before running ``commit``. Bazaar is actually stricter about this
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than Subversion or CVS - you need to be up to date with the full
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tree, not just for the files you've changed. Bazaar will ask you
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to run ``update`` if it detects that a revision has been added to
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the central location since you last updated.
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If the network connection to the bound branch is lost, the commit will
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fail. Some alternative ways of working around that are outlined next.