7
At times, it can be useful to have a single checkout as your
8
sandbox for working on multiple branches. Some possible reasons
11
* saving disk space when the working tree is large
12
* developing in a fixed location.
14
In many cases, working tree disk usage swamps the size of the
15
``.bzr`` directory. If you want to work on multiple branches
16
but can't afford the overhead of a full working tree for each,
17
reusing a checkout across multiples branches is the way to go.
19
On other occasions, the location of your sandbox might be
20
configured into numerous development and testing tools. Once
21
again, reusing a checkout across multiple branches can help.
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Changing where a branch is bound to
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-----------------------------------
26
To change where a checkout is bound to, follow these steps:
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1. Make sure that any local changes have been committed
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centrally so that no work is lost.
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2. Use the ``bind`` command giving the URL of the new
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remote branch you wish to work on.
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3. Make your checkout a copy of the desired branch by using
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the ``update`` command followed by the ``revert`` command.
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Note that simply binding to a new branch
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and running ``update`` is not enough: you need the ``revert`` to
40
throw away any local differences in the working tree.
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Switching a lightweight checkout
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--------------------------------
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If you have a lightweight checkout, there is no local history
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to worry about. In this case, you
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can simply alter the branch that the checkout (i.e.
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working tree) is referring to by using the ``switch`` command.
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One possible setup is to use a lightweight checkout in combination
51
with a local tree-less repository. This lets you switch what you
52
are working on with ease. For example::
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bzr init-repo --no-trees X-repo
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bzr branch sftp://centralhost/srv/bzr/X-repo/X-trunk
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bzr checkout --lightweight X-trunk my-sandbox
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Note that X-trunk in this example will have a ``.bzr`` directory within it
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but their will be no working tree there as the branch was created in
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a tree-less repository. You can grab or create as many branches as you
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need there and switch between them as required. For example::
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(assuming in my-sandbox)
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bzr branch sftp://centralhost/srv/bzr/X-repo/X-1.0 ../X-1.0
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bzr commit -m "blah, blah blah"
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(go back to working on the trunk)
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In many ways, ``switch`` operates like ``update`` in that it
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refreshes your working tree and merges in any local changes you
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have made. The primary different is that ``switch`` requires
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a branch location and it is only supported (currently) on
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lightweight checkouts.
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Note: The branches may be local only or they may be bound to
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remote ones (by creating them with ``checkout`` or by using ``bind``
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after creating them with ``branch``). ``switch`` and ``bind`` are
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similar but different: switch controls which branch the working tree
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refers to while ``bind`` associates a remote branch to the local one.
added
removed
doc/en/user-guide/reusing_a_checkout.txt
