[horde] Re: [imp] What's the advantage of using CVS?

[Eric Rostetter]

Quoting Jonathan Hutchins <hutchins at tarcanfel.org>:

> It also lets you use some of the less developed modules that don't work
> with the released versions.

That generally only applies if using CVS HEAD.

> > All you need to know about using Horde/IMP etc CVS is here...
> > <http://www.horde.org/source/>
> 
> There's a lot of info about how to get CVS files, and use CVS to update
> a local tree, but all that's gotten me is a mirror of the CVS tree, set
> up to distribute files as opposed to run a horde system.

You *can* run your site right off a CVS checkout.  Or, you can do a
"cvs export" from your CVS checkout, and run your site from the exported
files.  Either will work.  In any case, you will need to configure the
configuration files though, as well as create any needed storage (sql,
ldap, etc).

>  Not much clue
> how to get from "ok, I've got the files" to "now I have a running
> system".

Set up any needed backend storage (ldap, sql, etc) from the scripts included.
Configure any needed configuration files per the INSTALL files.
Point your web server/browser at the files...

>  Many of the files appear to be optional, extraneous, or not
> in the directory they would be in for a working installation.

Everything should be there exactly like the tarballs, but with some
extra CVS files added.  If you do a cvs export, it will give you the
same as a tarball, without the extra CVS files.
 
> I suppose if I understood how to arrange the files for a working
> configuration, it would be easier to understand how to update an
> installation from CVS, but that's even less clear.

So is that paragraph. ;)  It really is no different than a tarball
install, except that there are extra files in a cvs co for cvs to
use.  No extra files in a cvs export from a cvs co.  Also, you can
use rsync instead of cvs if you want, to avoid the cvs files.

> Applying the patches for the stable versions, while undocumented,
> wasn't too hard to figure out.  (You copy the patch file to the folder
> containing the installed program, then use patch -p1 < patchfile).

Docs or FAQ entries for this gladly accepted.

> Assuming that you left the .dist files in the config directory, you can
> now use diff <file>.php <file>.php.dist and figure out how to put your
> old configuration into the new file.

Once you start using CVS, the same applies.  It will update the *.dist
files, and you need to merge into your *.php files.  No different after
the first cvs co.

> (It would be great if someone came up with some sort of automation to
> preserve the old configuration while updating the config file and
> annotating new options...)

There are scripts like this, but it is up to you if you want to try them.
I simply don't trust them, so I do it by hand.

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-- 
Eric Rostetter
The Department of Physics
The University of Texas at Austin

Why get even? Get odd!