SVN Functionality: loss of locks when switching to a branch

My SVN versions - apologies if anything I write is out of date:
TortoiseSVN 1.6.5, Build 16974 - 32 Bit , 2009/08/20 08:13:46
Subversion 1.6.5,

I am currently working on a project with file that cannot be merged and hence require the use of locks and svn:needs-lock.

Even though we want to use locks we still also want to use branching. This allows us to still have a buildable trunk, it keeps the logs of branch work and trunk work separate and it promotes good branch working practise for other projects where merging may be possible.

The ideal would be that the team could lock the trunk down while they work on their branch. Then some other colleague could check out the trunk to build with but not edit the trunk.

Here is the problem:

If you have the trunk as your working copy.
You then take out locks on all non-mergable files so that the trunk can't be edited.
Next you branch the trunk and in the process switch to this branch.

Now as desired the trunk is locked. If all files have svn-needs-lock then everything is as you wanted it to be.

However, now you have finished with the branch and you want to merge it to trunk.
So you switch back to the trunk.
BUT YOUR LOCKS HAVE DISAPPEARED from your working copy - in this working copy check out you no longer have the locks since (I assume) you're .svn folder has changed.
If you try to lock the files, even though according to the repository you actually hold the lock, you will be told that some user (you) has a lock on the file.

The solution is then to steal the lock back from yourself. This doesn't seem right. Particularly not to tell the team that in their normal working practise they have to steal their locks back.

In my opinion, if the lock exists in the repository, under your user name, then why can't this information be pushed in to your working copy when you make the update/switch/checkout?

A check should be performed for repository locks that belong to the username checking out (or switching) that working copy. If the usernames match then you should get your lock, along with the files.

I understand that locking is an "extra" functionality of svn. However, it can be very useful for some files and it seems under supported in svn.

It would be even more useful if locks and the lock holder were pushed out to every user when they updated/checked out their working copy. This would resolve the above issue and also mean that all updated working copies would show that the file is locked by you or locked by someone else.

Kind Regards,

Dylan Reynolds

________________________________________
Dylan REYNOLDS
Software and Simulation Engineer
Simulation and Modelling - EDLIS
10X
Airbus in the UK

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Received on 2010-09-03 11:54:42 CEST