[cvsnt] CVS v. CVSNT

[Oliver Giesen]

> (1) The init command in the chm file uses unix style forward 
> slashes (with no device name) so that it is what I used and
> it worked just fine with the login, ls, import and many other
> commands so I never suspected it was the init command.

It does work with forward slashes. I just tried the following (even 
though I usually never use the init command at all - read below):

cvs -d:local:/d//localrepos/testrepo3 init

and it worked perfectly. AFAICT the problem was not that you used 
forward slashes, but that you (accidentally) performed the init with the 
Cygwin CVS instead of the CVSNT client and then (naturally) expected the 
CVSNT server to be able to cope with the files that were created by 
this.

Do you think you would have gone to the bash if there had been a note in 
the docs stating that all sample sessions refer to Unix and appropriate 
adjustments might have to be made for other platforms?


> (2) I could not (still cannot) find reference anywhere that I 
> need to run
> the CVSNT service control panel and define the repositories

Yes, that is probably the biggest gap.


> and that I
> should use the default forward slashes here with a device 
> name and that the name of the repository should match what I specify 
in 
> CVSROOT. I spent many hours trying to understand why  cvs -d
> :pserver:Siegfried at 192.168.0.8/c:\REPOSITORY does not work! 
> It sees the ":"
> and thinks you are trying to specify a port number.

Unless that was again a typo, the error here is that there is no colon 
after the server name/address. A CVSROOT usually consists of three 
components all of which are separated from each other by colons: 
protocol, host and repository path. CVSROOT syntax looks basically like 
this:

:protocol:[user@]server:/path/to/repo

or as it is even:

:protocol:[user@]server:drive:\path\to\repo

or in full glory:

:protocol[;keywords]:[user@]server[:port]:[drive:]\path\to\repo

The first two components could be omitted. CVSNT will assume :local: in 
that case. If only the protocol is omitted, at least GNU CVS assumes 
:server:. Not sure if CVSNT does that as well.


> (3) Lastly it seems like a perfectly innocent mistake to me 
> that I installed cygwin first and therefore the cygwin CVS
> client was in my path.

It certainly is. However, you might have noted that there is a CVS 
client contained in the Cygwin distribution and could have suspected 
that the two might interfere. I am certainly wary about possible 
interference whenever I install two applications that basically do the 
same. Do you think the CVSNT manual should contain notes about ALL 
possible third-party software combinations?


> I still have not figured out how to delete that old repository
> and start over).

You should be able to simply remove it physically and remove it from the 
control panel.


> So am I stupid or are there glaring omissions?

There are glaring holes, yes. Calling them omissions makes it sound as 
if they were _made_ deliberately though. It's simply that noone has 
gotten round to filling those holes yet...


> I'm looking at the chm file presently and I cannot find the
> omissions I'm talking about. 
> Should not they be there? Is not the chm file the logical place to 
look? I 
> don't recall seeing them on the Wiki page either.

Well, there's a setup guide in the Wiki which is also linked from the 
Getting Started section of the frontpage (though I've been told it's at 
least slightly outdated as well by now):
http://www.cvsnt.org/wiki/InstallationTips


> How is a beginner like me supposed to know when to use 
> forward slashes and
> when to use backward slashes?
> 
> Perhaps I still don't have it right so please correct me.

Done. I think.

 
> I think what the document needs is a quick start section for new
> installations that explains the steps of using init to create 
> a repository,
> running the service control panel to define it and then using 
> import to populate it.

Actually, you don't need to run Init explicitly. The control panel will 
do that for you if you define a repository path that does not yet exist. 
This definitely belongs in the manual. It's in the setup guide mentioned 
above, though.


> The former and the later are there, but not in 
> the same section
> so it makes it harder to follow for the first time user. 

Agreed.

 
Hope this helps.

Oliver
------
In everybody's best interest, please do not post or CC technical 
questions to me in private unless they are specifically about a 
macro/product of mine that is NOT already bundled with WinCvs. I will 
generally forward my replies to such posts to the CVSGUI list without 
further notice.
----	------------------
JID:	ogiesen at jabber.org
ICQ:	18777742	(http://wwp.icq.com/18777742)