Re: Repository file with inexplicable branch revisions

[David Fuller]

I would strongly discourage anyone from using the import command on files
where you intend to be doing development.  The files can be repaired
manually with a good text editor, but I would discourage that as well
unless you really know what you are doing.

On Tue, 19 Feb 2002, Doyle, Jim wrote:

> Hi, 
> 
> One of our development groups started up a CVS repository recently and
> has had some troubles with it, where it looks like the repository has
> gotten corrupted.  I've narrowed it to a single repository file, which has
> headers that look like:
> 
> head  1.1.1;
> access;
> symbols
>       production:1.1.1
>       ISO:1.1.1;
> locks; strict;
> comment       @# @;
> 
> 
> 1.1.1
> date  2001.11.05.21.08.47;    author rslate;  state Exp;
> branches;
> next  ;
> 
> 
> desc
> @@
> 
> 
> 1.1.1
> log
> @Initial entry
> 
> 
> There are no obvious glitches as a result of direct edits,
> like missing lines or added characters, but the revision history is
> extremely odd.
> There is only one revision, called "1.1.1"!  The file was originally added
> to the repository via an import command like "cvs import ncpc ISO
> production".
> Normally the revisions would be "1.1.1.1" and "1.1", with the vendor branch
> tag
> on "1.1.1".  The effect on the CVS client/server is that the module cannot
> be checked out, with the error "bad branch tag in checkout", which sounds
> only reasonable given the strange revisions.
> 
> It appears that the strange revision state must have been caused by a
> sequence
> of legitimate CVS commands, but I've been trying to reproduce it by 
> moving tags, deleting tags, outdating revisions, and committing with
> explicit
> revisions, and I haven't gotten anywhere.  The repository is under CVS
> 1.11.1p1 running 
> as pserver on a Unix box.  Can anyone think of a sequence of
> CVS commands that would result in this case, with the only revision having a
> branch number like "1.1.1"?
> 
> At this point the best we can do is remove the repository file from the
> server and 
> re-add it (since it's been corrupted since the very day it was added).  But
> I want
> to find out what operations to warn people against, or what I can do to
> protect
> the repository from these operations.
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Jim Doyle
> address@hidden
> 
> 
>  <<ncpc.sps,v>> 
>