"Jonathan S. Shapiro" wrote:
> > > 2. Options that change semantics. Examples: the defaults
> > > for whatever replaces the CVSIGNORE variable....
>
> > Nearly all the options should be specifiable from RC files and
> > environment variables.
>
> For cosmetic options that is just fine. For options that change the
> semantics of what is performed I would say that they should NEVER be
> specifiable from environment variables or RC files.
[personal experience elided]
> Now there are four points to all this:
>
> 1. It was an option about the project, not about my workspace, and... it
> had absolutely no business being in either my environment or my .cvsrc file.
>
> 2. Because it was possible to specify it in the wrong places, I took the
> easy way out and got bit on the ass.
>
> 3. Given that there exists no *proper* usage of an environment variable or
> .cvsrc option for this particular purpose, it shouldn't be supported from
> either place.
>
> 4. [Minor addendum] It also shouldn't have been in required in *all* the
> .cvsignore files. You certainly need to be able to specify such things on a
> file by file or directory by directory basis, and .cvsignore files work fine
> for this, but there should also have been a way to specify this globally on
> a per-project basis, and in such a way that *anyone* who checked out the
> project would be subject to the same rules. In CVS, this could have been
> done by creating CVS/Options files (just a thought balloon -- not a
> proposal).
Gosh! #4 *really* sounds like a project-specific .svnrc file. :-)
> While I'm thinking about it, the .cvsrc replacement should allow me to
> specify things on a per-project basis.
Assuming my AutoOpts, this is already done:
--load-opts=${top_srcdir}/.svnrc
Drawback in your eyes, tho: It would give people rope to put
such options into ``~/.svnrc''.
> Actually, in CVS the only *other* example of such an option that I can think
> about is the required locking feature. Everything else really does seem to
> be a cosmetic option.
Methinks documenting recommended practices is a good idea,
including your anecdote to reinforce the concept. :-)
Received on Sat Oct 21 14:36:11 2006