Thanks for your explanation.
I think a configuration option would be very useful.
BTW I am using Tortoise 1.4.8 and I think SVN 1.4.6 on the server.
2008/6/4 Karl Fogel <kfogel_at_red-bean.com>:
> "Dominik Ruf" <dominikruf_at_googlemail.com> writes:
> > I have just tried to merge 2 branches with some identical binary files.
> > Subversion says that there is a conflict between each of the 2 files.
> > This forces me to check if they are really identical which would be
> > unnecessary if subversion would realize that they are equal.
> >
> > Is there a cogent reason why these files are treated as conflicts.
>
> This is a deep question. Consider the following scenario:
>
> On branch B1, we make several edits to file B1/F that result finally in
> a state F(S). On B2, we make a completely *different* set of edits,
> many of which individually would conflict with edits on B1/F, but in the
> end it all leaves B2/F in state F(S) as well.
>
> When you merge from B1 to B2 (or vice versa), what should happen?
>
> It's odd to say that B1 now "has" all of B2's edits, or vice versa. Yet
> the final result is the same, and I think most users would want & expect
> the merge to succeed, since the file content is the same.
>
> You don't say what version of Subversion you're using, or what client.
> In Subversion 1.5, there is an interactive conflict resolution
> mechanism. In future releases, maybe we should make that interface tell
> the user that the files are the same, to save time. Or maybe we should
> make allowing the merge the default, with a configuration option to
> disallow and fall back to conflict resolution.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> -Karl
>
Received on 2008-06-06 09:08:14 CEST