[Gnu-arch-users] Re: tagline considered harmful?

[Stig Brautaset]

On Aug 23 2003, Maksim wrote:
> 
> Having read in the tla docs that tagline is the recommended tagging 
> method, I'm wondering what the compelling reasons for using it are?

I don't have to use special tools to move a file -- `mv' works fine.
Same for removing a file.

> From my point of view it seesm quite limiting in that:
> - It won't work with binary files (eg. my apps icons or 3rd party 
> library files which I want to version manage as well as my src code)
> - It won't work for things like xml-type documents that are produced by 
> many 3rd party apps (eg. open office docs) where it may be very 
> difficult or impossibel to insert a tagline in the first or last 1kb

Then give these files explicit tags -- they still work using the tagline
tagging method.

> - It makes it very easy (though admittedly not epecially likely) for 
> anyone editing the file to accidently stuff up the tagline

Not more likely than someone moving a file around without moving the
corresponeding tag when this resides outside the file itself. It is
unlikely that someone providing you with a non-arch patch for your
software correctly moves explicit tags around.

> - It means that I need some mechanism to come up with unique taglines 
> (unless I use the obvious orig full pathname of the file technique 
> discussed on the list previously)

There are programs around to do this for you -- personally I tend to
use something similar to `Stig Brautaset $(date)' or the output of
uuidgen, since I rarely add many files a second.

> Against all this I see almost no disadvantages to using the explicit 
> method and all the advantages of the above, except for the small 
> inconvienience of having to remember to do 'tla add ...' and as a 
> perforce user (at work) I've pretty much learnt to do that as par for 
> the course.
> So am I missing something about using taglines?

Yes. Explicit tags still works, so you have the best of both worlds.

:)

-- 
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