RE: Re: how to check in a symlink?

> From: Jason Voegele [mailto:jason@jvoegele.com]
>
> On Monday 05 April 2004 10:19 am, Derek Mahar wrote:
> > If I remember correctly, ClearCase supports symbolic links on
> > both Windows and Unix-like systems. Ironically, unlike
> > Subversion, ClearCase completely subverts the underlying
> > client filesytem and installs its own.
> [snip]
> > Maybe Subversion should try to emulate the ClearCase model.
>
> Yikes. Talk about a heavy-handed solution to supporting symlinks...

Well, Clearcase doesn't do this *just* to support sym-links...

Clearcase's model is that it exports your work-area/... as a filesystem that you map. And then, because of that, they are then free to implement sym/hard-links very easily... (as well as do a whole bunch of other interesting things!)

As another reference point, Continuus (CCM, CM Synergy, ...) support symlinks in its 'database' (repository) *but* only when your work-area is stored on a filesystem that supports it (i.e. Unix). If you're running on Windows, the symlink object simply doesn't appear in your filesystem (you get a warning upon 'reconfigure' - the equivalent of 'update')

The idea is that if you're running all Unix and want symlinks, you can use them. If you're running clients on Windows, the filesystem doesn't support them anyway, so you probably weren't going to attempt to use them, so you won't miss having them.

Personally, I think this is a very pragmatic solution...

But, to get symlinks on Windows, if/when SVN supports links, you could simply run your SVN client on a Unix system, and export the Unix filesystem containing your working-copy via Samba, then map a drive on the Windows system. Windows apps will be able to read the symlink, which will correctly map to the target of the link, but of course still won't be able to manipulate the link itself (i.e. create new links or point existing links at a new place) (Perhaps links could work similarly via WebFolders attached to a WebDAV server to)

--
Stephen Warren, Software Engineer, Parama Networks, San Jose, CA
http://www.wwwdotorg.org/work_contact/
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