Re: Deployment Question

[Eric Siegerman]

On Sun, Aug 18, 2002 at 10:37:53AM -0400, David Morsberger wrote:
> We are looking for a good way to merge the changes we make at the customer
> location with the development baseline at our facility.
> [without the ability to access the dev. repo from there]
> 
> We currently create a branch (rel_sitex) and and deliver a tarred up
> cvsroot.

If the per-customer changes you make are small enough that you
can live without using CVS while on site, make the branch as you
do now; but instead of delivering a copy of the repo to the
customer, deliver a CVS sandbox checked out (not exported) on the
branch.

Then when it's time to bring the changes back, just tar up the
(modified) sandbox and bring it back to your site.  You should be
able to commit without any conflicts, as no other activity should
have happened on the branch; then merge the branch back into the
baseline -- which may well produce conflicts, but at that point
the deployment complexity has been smoothed over, leaving you
with a straight-ahead merge.

If you do need to do commits while at the customer's site ...
I've been faced with a similar situation, but that was five or
six years ago.  I'd have to think more about how I handled it.
It may well have involved imports, as you're contemplating -- but
then again, maybe not.  So if this is what you're after, let me
know.  Alternatively, see the recent "sync repository" thread,
wherein a possible approach was discussed.

--

|  | /\
|-_|/  >   Eric Siegerman, Toronto, Ont.        address@hidden
|  |  /
Anyone who swims with the current will reach the big music steamship;
whoever swims against the current will perhaps reach the source.
        - Paul Schneider-Esleben