NAME

rcs - change RCS file attributes

SYNOPSIS

rcs [options] file ...

DESCRIPTION

The rcs(1) utility creates new Revision Control System (RCS) files, or changes attributes of existing ones. An RCS file contains multiple revisions of text, an access list, a change log, descriptive text, and some control attributes. For rcs(1) to work, the caller's login name must be on the access list, unless the access list is empty, the caller is the owner of the file or the superuser, or the -i option is present.

Path names matching an RCS suffix denote RCS files; all others denote working files. Names are paired as explained in ci(1). Revision numbers use the syntax described in ci(1).

The rcs(1) accepts the following options:

-alogins
Append the login names appearing in the comma-separated list logins to the access list of the RCS file.
-Aoldfile
Append the access list of oldfile to the access list of the RCS file.
-b[rev]
Set the default branch to rev. If rev is omitted, the default branch is reset to the (dynamically) highest branch on the trunk.
-cstring
Set the comment leader to string. The comment leader is printed before every log message line generated by the keyword $Log$ during checkout (see co(1)). This is useful for programming languages without multiline comments. An initial ci(1), or an rcs -i without -c, guesses the comment leader from the suffix of the working file.
-e[logins]
Erase the login names appearing in the comma-separated list logins from the access list of the RCS file. If logins is omitted, erase the entire access list.
-i
Create and initialize a new RCS file, but do not deposit any revision. If the RCS file has no path prefix, try to place it first into the subdirectory ./RCS, and then into the current directory. If the RCS file already exists, print an error message.
-I
Run interactively, even if the standard input is not a terminal.
-ksubst
Set the default keyword substitution to subst. The effect of keyword substitution is described in co(1). Giving an explicit -k option to co(1), rcsdiff(1), and rcsmerge(1) overrides this default. Beware rcs -kv, because -kv is incompatible with co -l. Use rcs -kkv to restore the normal default keyword substitution.
-l[rev]
Lock the revision with number rev. If a branch is given, lock the latest revision on that branch. If rev is omitted, lock the latest revision on the default branch. Locking prevents overlapping changes. A lock is removed with ci(1) or rcs -u (see later in this topic).
-L
Set locking to strict. Strict locking means that the owner of an RCS file is not exempt from locking for checkin. This option should be used for files that are shared.
-mrev:msg
Replace revision rev's log message with msg.
-nname[:[rev]]
Associate the symbolic name name with the branch or revision rev. Delete the symbolic name if both : and rev are omitted; otherwise, print an error message if name is already associated with another number. If rev is symbolic, it is expanded before association. A rev consisting of a branch number followed by a . stands for the current latest revision in the branch. A : with an empty rev stands for the current latest revision on the default branch, normally the trunk. For example, rcs -nname: RCS/* associates name with the current latest revision of all the named RCS files; this contrasts with rcs -nname:$ RCS/*, which associates name with the revision numbers extracted from keyword strings in the corresponding working files.
-Nname[:[rev]]
Act like -n, except override any previous assignment of name.
-orange
Deletes (outdates) the revisions given by range. A range consisting of a single revision number means that revision. A range consisting of a branch number means the latest revision on that branch. A range of the form rev1:rev2 means revisions rev1 to rev2 on the same branch; :rev means from the beginning of the branch containing rev up to and including rev, and rev: means from revision rev to the end of the branch containing rev. None of the outdated revisions can have branches or locks.
-q
Run quietly; do not print diagnostics.
-sstate[:rev]
Set the state attribute of the revision rev to state. If rev is a branch number, assume the latest revision on that branch. If rev is omitted, assume the latest revision on the default branch. Any identifier is acceptable for state. A useful set of states is Exp (for experimental), Stab (for stable), and Rel (for released). By default, ci(1) sets the state of a revision to Exp.
-t[file]
Write descriptive text from the contents of the named file into the RCS file, deleting the existing text. The file path name cannot begin with a period (.). If file is omitted, obtain the text from standard input, terminated by end-of-file or by a line containing . by itself. Prompt for the text if interaction is possible; see -I. With -i, descriptive text is obtained even if -t is not given.
-t-string
Write descriptive text from the string into the RCS file, deleting the existing text.
-u[rev]
Unlock the revision with number rev. If a branch is given, unlock the latest revision on that branch. If rev is omitted, remove the latest lock held by the caller. Normally, only the locker of a revision can unlock it. Somebody else unlocking a revision breaks the lock. This causes a mail message to be sent to the original locker. The message contains a commentary solicited from the breaker. The commentary is terminated by end-of-file or by a line containing . by itself.
-U
Set locking to non-strict. Non-strict locking means that the owner of a file need not lock a revision for checkin. This option should not be used for files that are shared. Whether default locking is strict is determined by your system administrator, but it is usually strict.
-Vn
Emulate RCS version n. See co(1) for details.
-xsuffixes
Use suffixes to characterize RCS files. See ci(1) for details.

COMPATIBILITY

The -b rev option generates an RCS file that cannot be parsed by RCS version 3 or earlier.

The -k subst options (except -kkv) generate an RCS file that cannot be parsed by RCS version 4 or earlier.

Use rcs -Vn to make an RCS file acceptable to RCS version n by discarding information that would confuse version n.

RCS versions 5.5 and earlier do not support the -x option, and require a ,v suffix on an RCS path name.

FILES

The rcs(1) utility accesses files much as ci(1) does, except that it uses the effective user for all accesses, it does not write the working file or its directory, and it does not even read the working file unless a revision number of $ is specified.

ENVIRONMENT

RCSINIT
Contains a list of options prepended to the argument list, separated by spaces. See ci(1) for details.

DIAGNOSTICS

The RCS path name and the revisions outdated are written to the diagnostic output. The exit status is zero only if all operations were successful.

BUGS

The separator for revision ranges in the -o option used to be - instead of :, but this leads to confusion when symbolic names contain -. For backwards compatibility rcs -o still supports the old - separator, but it warns about this obsolete use.

Symbolic names need not refer to existing revisions or branches. For example, the -o option does not remove symbolic names for the outdated revisions; you must use -n to remove the names.

IDENTIFICATION

Author: Walter F. Tichy.
Revision Number: 1.10; Release Date: 1999/06/09.
Copyright © 1982, 1988, 1989 by Walter F. Tichy.
Copyright © 1990, 1991 by Paul Eggert.

SEE ALSO

co(1)

ci(1)

ident(1)

rcsdiff(1)

rcsmerge(1)

rlog(1)

rcsintro(5)

rcsfile(5)

Walter F. Tichy, RCS--A System for Version Control, Software--Practice & Experience 15, 7 (July 1985), 637-654.