My first hung repository

Subversion had been a pretty good experience, until this evening.

My repository at <svn+ssh://svn.berlios.de/svnroot/repos/gpsd> got
into a seriously wedged state tonight.

1, A commit hung indefinitely. After the first time, all attempt to
   commit also hung.

2. svnadmin reccover also hung. Or, at least, appeared to; it sat
   there for half an hour emitting no messages.

3. An attempt to svn dump the repository also appeared to hang.

The reason I'm complaining here is to point out that the interface
design of svnadmin recover is *horrible*. What were you guys
*thinking*?

Let's review. This is a tool intended to be used by admins to recover
a hung database. Anybody firing it up is already probably near panic
at the thought that their precious data may have become an
unrecoverable lump.

So what does it do? It starts by saying, coyly, "recovering the
repository may take some time", and then *proceeds to behave in a
manner not readily distinguishable from a hung database*. No progress
meter, no messages, nothing to provide any reassurance
that...any...actual... recovery...is...happening.

Hello? Hello? Perhaps there is some subtlety I am missing here, but
at least at first glance this design appears to have been air-dropped
in from the Land of the Fucking Dumbshits. I've been watching the
second try at svn recover for twenty minutes. No sign of life or
motion at all.

Come *on*, guys. At the very minimum, print a timestamp at the start
of the run so the poor damn admin doesn't have to just guess when
he started the recovery. Add a twirling-baton prompt that pauses on
lock accesses or something. Progress messages. Anything!

Fifty minutes and counting. You know, I somehow think this recovery
is going to fail.

-- 
		Eric S. Raymond
Such are a well regulated militia, composed of the freeholders,
citizen and husbandman, who take up arms to preserve their property,
as individuals, and their rights as freemen.
        -- "M.T. Cicero", in a newspaper letter of 1788 touching the "militia" 
            referred to in the Second Amendment to the Constitution.
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