externals and manual merge.

Hi all

Some my users want to do something I think it's impossible to do. But I'm
not svn guru so I would like to have you advise :

My users working on some software where half the code is from other
repository (read-only) but....they work on same file.

so in my «my-repos» I use svn propedit svn:externals to define on external
repository :

        my-repos/file1
        my-repos/file2
        my-repos/external/code-from-external/ext-file1
        my-repos/external/code-from-external/ext-file2

but...my users want to modify (and they will) ext-file1 and ext-file2 and
want those file under version control on my server (the external is on
read-only).

I think that's impossible, what's your opinion ?

Because I believe that's impossible I said to make a copy :

        cp -p -r my-repos/external/code-from-external my-repos/my-working
        svn add my-repos/my-working

and working on

        my-repos/my-working/ext-file1
        my-repos/my-working/ext-file2

but of course when the external repository make some update they are the
problem of merging. So is that possible to use manually the wonderfull
merging algorithme of subversion on those files (event not automatically)
between

        my-repos/external/code-from-external/ext-file1

and

        my/repos/my-working/ext-file1

regards.

JAS

-- 
Albert SHIH
SIO batiment 15
Observatoire de Paris Meudon
5 Place Jules Janssen
92195 Meudon Cedex
Heure local/Local time:
Mer 22 avr 2009 16:22:05 CEST