Re: Checking out individual files

B. Smith-Mannschott wrote:
>
>> >> Here is the basis of my problem: We have one user who has refused to
>>>> accept Subversion as a company-standard version control system
>>>> unless he can check out individual files and do it with a GUI on
>>>> Windows without the need for command-line commands.
>>> When I close my eyes, I see a man flailing away at nails with the
>>> handle of a screwdriver for a half an hour before finally complaining
>>> that it's the lousiest hammer he's ever used. The mind reels.
>>
>> Look at it from the other side. There are valid technical reasons for
>> needing an upper level directory as a place to put the .svn
>> subdirectory, but there is no such reason to insist on dragging all of
>> the unwanted contents of that directory along on the initial checkout
>> if the user doesn't want them. Why would you want to change your
>> tools to a set that doesn't do the operation you want?
>
> It seems my implication missed it's mark.
>
> My point was not that SVN is a lousy hammer, but but that expecting a
> good screwdriver to be a hammer is misguided.

But the user wants a tool to do the job. I thought he didn't want to use
  svn in the first place, and had his reasons.

> i.e. The difficulty some new SVN users seem to have is in stubbornly
> insisting on misusing the tool because one can't quite accept that it
> offers a slightly different solution (screws) to the same problem
> (affixing things). And this it does with aplomb, but it does require
> stepping back and not "What am I trying to accomplish?" without
> presupposing a solution.

You lost me on this one. Are you suggesting that he shouldn't use svn
for this task, or that there is some yet unmentioned way to do what he
wants with svn.

-- 
    Les Mikesell
     lesmikesell@gmail.com
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