(sort of OT) cvs/vendor supplied modules/our own modifications

[pg]

This is sort of OT, but not really.

We get packages from a vendor (some application), and they provide us updates periodically. At the same time, we make our own modifications to various modules. Obviously not ideal, but that is how life goes on.

Obviously we have to keep track of all the changes, and it is a given that cvs is the tool.

What's in my mind now, is to have a main branch, which we make changes to.

Every time we get a version from vendor, we create a new branch, and then merge this new branch back to the main branch (which includes our own changes). The merge then happens automatically for us, hopefully without conflict, although not much hope. But we can always resolve the conflicts.

Does anyone have a similar needs? What did you do?

[hbo]

But, given that CVS really is the solution you are stuck with, the procedure you outline is the recommended one. CVS supports this with the import command:

import
   Import sources into CVS, using vendor branches
       · Synopsis: import [-options] repository vendortag releasetag..

There are many alternatives to CVS, perforce and subversion being proprietary and free options respectively, and many of them may handle this task more or less better than CVS. But the real complexity is in the subsequent merge of the vendor branch into your mainline. None of the VC systems do this hard work for you.

[superfrink]

I use CVS at work and for personal projects (I even used it for many undergrad assignments). My main complaint is trouble doing the branching and merging (also deleting and renaming files erase all history of those files). Maybe I just haven't learned enough about how to use CVS. (I assure you I've read and googled and tried to figure it out though.)

One company I've worked with is currently considering subversion though they haven't switched over yet and I understand there is a fee to use it.

[The Mad Hatter]

Subversion solves the complaints you listed, including keeping the history when deleting/renaming files. I made the switch from CVS to Subversion a little while back with the help of the online version of a great book, and I've really liked it a lot.

There shouldn't be a fee at all; subversion is licensed under the Apache 1.1 license (but with CollabNet as the copyright holder).

[dpavlin]

I switched to subversion a while ago just for ease of branching and merging. But, I also needed compatibility with CVS-based hosting services (like SourceForge), so I wrote svn2cvs. With cvs2svn and this tool I made successfull transition to subversion.

Vendor branches in subversion are just directories. Basic principle is following: You have version 1.0 of vendor (upstream) branch. You do copy (which is cheap in subversion) to your trunk (current working tree). When vendor release version 1.1, you do merge. Subversion will diff vendor version 1.0 and 1.1 and apply changes to your working tree. If there are conflicts, you will get original file, left and right merge, just to make it easier. All that is described in much more details in subversion book.

I must also warn you: if you try subversion branches, you won't be able to go back to CVS :-)

[gaal]

I'm not sure how helpful it'll be to you since you state that cvs is "the" tool, but have you tried out Arch? I found it infuriating to learn (and am still a beginner), but it seems to be better designed for the things you're describing than cvs. (It would work better if the vendor himself uses Arch, so I know this is a long shot.)