A Comparison of /BriefCase(tm) vs. CVS
                       January, 1999
                    by: David M. Knight



1.  A Comparison of /BriefCase(tm) vs. CVS

While CVS and /BriefCase(tm) are both built upon the same file
revision control platform (RCS), their philosophy,  approach
and  command  structures differ dramatically.  As I am not a
CVS "expert", I encourage those  readers  who  may  be  more
familiar  with  CVS  to  "keep  me honest" with constructive
feedback!

1.1  What Are CVS and /BriefCase?

Both  the  CVS   and   /BriefCase   packages   enhance   the
functionality   and  usefulness  of  RCS-5.7,  an  industry-
standard revision control control package by implementing:

   o a central, client/server repository

   o full directory  tree  support,  including  subdirectory
     recursion  and automatic mapping of the current working
     directory to its corresponding repository directory

   o the notion of a project, consisting of a collection  of
     files in an arbitrarily complex directory tree

1.2  Availability and Licensing

Like RCS, both the CVS and /BriefCase packages are available
free of charge, under the  terms  of  the  GPL  and  may  be
downloaded  from  one or more Internet/web sites.  There are
no licensing charges for either package.

1.3  Support

Technical support for both packages is available, for a fee,
from two or more consulting organizations.  In addition, the
source code included in the CVS and /BriefCase downloads may
be  maintained,  enhanced and/or redistributed by end users,
according to the terms of the GPL.

1.4  Major Similarities

Both  CVS  and  /BriefCase  build  upon  the   file-oriented
capabilities   of  the  RCS  Revision  Control  System  with
additional commands and paradigms including:

  1.  a   local/remote   repository   implementation    with
      client/server-style access

  2.  Unlike  basic RCS, the check-in operations of both CVS
      and /BriefCase do not remove the  local  copy  of  the
      checked-in  file.   Because  of differing philosophies
      about locking, /BriefCase  check-in  makes  the  local
      copy read-only, CVS commit (check-in) does not.

  3.  after   check-in,   both   CVS   and   /BriefCase  may
      automatically update working  files,  based  upon  the
      setting of their RCS -k parameter or, with /BriefCase,
      if the filename is recognized as belonging to a  class
      of   files   configured  for  automatic  "ident  line"
      maintenance (see "Advanced Features" section for  more
      on   this).   This  ensures  that  RCS  keywords  (and
      especially any "ident lines") contained in the working
      files will reflect the newly checked-in revision(s).

  4.  "logical"  removal  of  files  which  become  obsolete
      during project evolution  -  CVS  hides  them  in  the
      "Attic" and /BriefCase "zaps" them to achieve the same
      result:  obsolete  files  are  invisible  for  ongoing
      development   but   automatically   available   during
      checkout of older releases in which  they  were  used,
      e.g.   for   bug   fixes   and  maintenance  releases.
      Unfortunately, the CVS User manual  does  not  mention
      this feature.

  5.  client/server  access  to  a  local  or remote central
      source code repository using the standard  TCP/IP  rsh
      command protocol:

         o /BriefCase  client  scripts run their server-side
           counterparts with rsh and use  a  combination  of
           pipes  and  an  NFS  mounted  (rw)  staging  area
           (/Stage) to move information between  the  client
           and server hosts.

         o CVS  uses  rsh  to  start a CVS server process to
           access   the   repository   and   transfers   the
           information between client and server hosts via a
           TCP/IP socket.

      If  the  "tcpwrappers"  (tcpd)  security  package   is
      installed,  NFS  exports  may  be  further  secured by
      restricting  access  to  the  server's  portmap  (TCP)
      service    with    appropriate    entries    in    the
      /etc/hosts.deny and /etc/hosts.allow files.

      An alternate CVS configuration  requires  installation
      of:

         o the CVS server program as an suid-root binary - a
           dubious  prospect  for  some   security-conscious
           sites

         o entries  to the /etc/services and /etc/inetd.conf
           files to invoke the CVS server

      Like the portmap service, the CVS server  installation
      can be made more secure with tcpd.

      /BriefCase  does  not currently provide a socket-based
      client/server implementation preferring,  instead,  to
      build    on   the   benefits   of   its   shell-script
      implementation.

      Both  CVS  and  /BriefCase   protect   their   central
      repository   filesystems   behind   their   respective
      client/server mechanisms.

      To ensure the integrity of the client/server  software
      versions,   the  /BriefCase  client  scripts  and  CVS
      executables are NFS exported (readonly) by the server,
      mounted  by  each  client  host  and  secured  through
      export/share  directives  limiting   access   to   the
      /BriefCase or CVS to their client hosts.

      The  rsh  protocol  requires  several server-side host
      access   configurations    (/etc/hosts.equiv    and/or
      /.rhosts  files) to be set up for the client hosts and
      client/server synchronization of uid/gid numbers  such
      that  a  CVS  or  /BriefCase user on a client host can
      successfully execute an rsh command like:

              rsh server_name date

      where server_name is the /BriefCase or CVS  repository
      server  host.   Line  the  portmap  service,  the  rsh
      service can be made more secure with tcpd.

      Uid and gid  number  synchronization  is  most  easily
      maintained   where   both  client  and  server  hosts'
      /etc/passwd and /etc/group files are maintained within
      an  NIS  or  NIS+ domain.  Like NFS mounts, use of rsh
      can be further secured, with  appropriate  entries  in
      the /etc/hosts.deny and /etc/hosts.allow files if tcpd
      is installed.

  6.  control of RCS keyword substitutions: CVS requires you
      to        specify       a       -k       flag       at
      import/add/checkout/diff/update time for  files  which
      are to have "non-default" keyword expansion.  When the
      -k flag is specified on add, the attribute is saved in
      the  RCS  repository  and becomes the default property
      for that file.  When -k is  specified  for  any  other
      operation,  it is remembered ("sticky") for you but is
      not permanent unless you also use cvs admin to  modify
      the  file  in  the repository.  When a -k attribute is
      specified for a CVS "import" that attribute apparently
      applies  to  all  files  imported;  which  may  not be
      appropriate for trees that contain  a  combination  of
      files  that need expansion and files that do not.  For
      example, importing a tree that  contains  both  source
      files  (which  need keyword expansion) and third-party
      (.so or .a) libraries (which  must  not  have  keyword
      expansion)  one  would need to manually adjust one set
      or the other, regardless of the -k specified  for  the
      import.

      /BriefCase  uses a project-specific configuration file
      to recognize which files should have keyword expansion
      and  define a source-language-dependent identification
      string  to  be  maintained  for  each  type  of  file.
      Unrecognized  file  types  are checked in with the "no
      keyword expansion" attribute.

  7.  Unix file  ownership  and  group  permissions  control
      access to repository files and directories

  8.  /BriefCase  and  CVS  are both mature, well tested and
      robust packages,  available  since  the  late  1980's.
      Both  CVS  and /BriefCase have proven track records at
      Fortune 500 companies for a variety of small  to  very
      large projects.

1.5  Major Differences

1.5.1  Documentation   /BriefCase comes with a complete 170+
page, indexed Reference and User's Guide, in PostScript (for
printing or online viewing), PCL and ASCII text formats.

1.5.2  Philosophy    By   default,   CVS   operates  in  the
"unreserved checkout" mode and, at commit  (check-in)  time,
detects  merge conflicts when changes in your file(s) are in
direct conflict with changes committed by other users  since
your  revisions  were  checked  out.   For  example, if your
changes are made to revision 1.12 and another user committed
revision 1.13 with his/her own changes to one or more of the
same lines changed in your file.  Developers  must  manually
resolve any "merge conflicts" before a commit can succeed.

Configuring  CVS to use reserved (locked) checkouts may help
with these concerns, but obviates several CVS  commands  and
those  portions  of the current CVS user manual dealing with
unreserved checkout issues.

With /BriefCase, developers can checkout a read-only copy of
any  revision  of  any  file  at any time.  When a developer
intends to modify a revision of  a  file,  he/she  tries  to
check-out  and  lock  it.  If the lock succeeds, then no one
else has locked that revision intending to  change  it.   It
the lock fails, the developer can:

  1.  coordinate with the owner of the existing lock

  2.  start  a  branch revision to contain his/her revisions
      (a "parallel development path") until such time  as  a
      merge may be appropriate

  3.  in  an  emergency,  break  the  lock  (a  "reason"  is
      required).  The event is logged and email,  indicating
      both  the  breaker's userid and the reason, is sent to
      the user whose lock was broken.  The user  whose  lock
      was  broken  then  has  the  option  of starting a new
      branch revision for his/her changes or merge with  the
      new  tip revision and check in the result as a new tip
      revision.

Advance notice of potential code conflicts tends to increase
inter-developer  communication  and  minimize the number and
complexity of conflicts that need to be  resolved  during  a
merge.

Branch  revisions  simplify  development  and maintenance of
"temporary fixes" which may never be merged  with  the  main
trunk  and allow multiple concurrent development paths which
proceed through multiple stages (revisions) to be checked in
without impacting each other or the main "trunk" development
path.  If a change checked in as part of a branch  is  "bad"
(won't  compile  or  worse),  its  only  impact is upon that
specific branch  and  will  not  disturb  another  developer
checking out tip revisions or working on another branch.

As  changes  to  a locked revision may only be checked in by
the owner of the lock, it  is  unlikely  that  anyone  could
irreparably  "step  on"  someone else's changes by "mistake"
because it is  always  possible  to  either  revert  to  the
previous  revision  and/or  merge the "mistake" as if it had
been  a  branch  revision.    Furthermore,   as   /BriefCase
implements  "strict"  locking, a developer can only check in
changes to files which are actually  locked.   This  greatly
reduces  the likelihood that one could accidentally check in
changes that  were  coincidental  to  the  intended  fix  or
enhancement.  For example, imagine that you are working on a
particularly hard to reproduce bug and, in  the  process  of
developing  and  testing  a  fix,  you have made hard-coded,
temporary changes to 7 sources in 4 directories (to simplify
the  reproducing  the  problem  and testing the fix) and the
actual fix required changes to 5 sources in  3  directories.
With  the  CVS  "unreserved checkout" approach, if you did a
commit  in  a  top-level  directory,  without   specifically
articulating  the pathnames of the files you wanted to check
in, it would commit the the  7  files  with  the  hard-coded
changes,  or  the  one  you  forgot  to revert to the proper
revision, (which should not be checked in) along with the  5
fixed  files.  With /BriefCase strict locking (assuming that
you did not lock the files in which  the  temporary  changes
were  made) a top-level, recursive check in would only check
in those files which were changed and locked.

1.5.3  Focus  The main focus of /BriefCase  is  to  simplify
and  support  the  "project tree" and "named/tagged release"
abstractions  as  well  as  to  keep  the  revision  control
operations and the user interface as easy to use as possible
for  arbitrarily  large  directory   trees.    Specifically,
/BriefCase commands are designed to:

   o make repository operations as transparent and intuitive
     as possible; common operations  are  accomplished  with
     single  commands,  e.g.  nci  checks in one or more new
     files (as compared to the separate "add"  and  "commit"
     commands required by CVS)

   o minimize the number of commands and options required to
     accomplish a given task, especially common tasks

   o minimize  the  amount   of   filename/pathname   typing
     required

   o minimize  the effort required to maintain the integrity
     of a source code revisions and directory tree

   o minimize the potential for user errors  when  migrating
     files  between  the  repository  and the user's working
     directory

   o support release management operations with advanced tag
     management  and  presentation-quality reports of tagged
     release content and differences


1.5.4  Advanced Features  In addition,  /BriefCase  provides
some   advanced,   developer   and  release-manager-friendly
features which CVS does not:

  1.  Project Workarea Replication - users can have multiple
      project  work  areas  in  which  to  work on different
      releases and/or aspects (bug-fixes, enhancements) of a
      single  project.  /BriefCase project Workarea replicas
      provide full revision lock integrity  across  replicas
      and  across client hosts.  Locks made from one replica
      are not confused with locks made from another  replica
      or  even from the same replica on another client host.

  2.  Private Tags - allow users to  assign  and  manipulate
      their  own  private  set  of tags (a tag is a symbolic
      name  associated   with   specific   file   revision).
      Administrative  tags  are still only available only to
      users  in   the   BCadmin   group   (i.e.   /BriefCase
      administrators).

  3.  Import/Conversion tools - simplify moving SCM archives
      into /BriefCase from SCCS, CVS, RCS and PVCS.

  4.  /BriefCase configuration allows classes of files which
      can be recognized with a regular expression match of a
      filename "extension" ("*.c", "*.pl", etc.) or  portion
      of   their  filename  ("*akefile",  APP_*,  etc.)   to
      automatically ensure that files in each class  contain
      a   file-specific   "ident  line"  at  check-in  time.
      Typically, ident lines are of the greatest value  with
      source  code  languages that support a mechanism which
      passes the "ident" info into the executable  (binary?)
      files, thus providing the means to determine precisely
      which source files revisions  were  used  to  build  a
      library file or a binary executable.

      Note  that  /BriefCase  also  uses  these  classes  to
      determine the default -k flag when  a  file  is  first
      checked  in.   Files  belonging  to one of the defined
      classes are checked in with -kv and an ident  line  of
      the  configured  type  appended at the end, unless the
      file already contains an  ident  line  of  the  proper
      format  elsewhere  in the file.  File not belonging to
      any of the configured classes will be checked in  with
      the  -ko  flag,  which  preserves any RCS keywords and
      ident line information  from  the  original  file  and
      prevents   re-expansion   on  checkout.   Should  this
      default be incorrect for any given file,  the  nkw_exp
      command   can   be   used   to   reset   the  -k  flag
      appropriately.

      While CVS does not come with a feature to manage ident
      lines  or choose a default -k flag based on classes of
      filenames, I suspect that something similar  could  be
      built   using   the   more  generalized  "cvswrappers"
      facility.

  5.  Release Management Reports - /BriefCase also  provides
      commands  to  produce presentation-quality (typeset or
      HTML) reports about the exact content (a manifest)  of
      a  tagged release (ntag_report), the exact differences
      between tagged releases or a tagged  release  and  the
      tip  revisions (ntag_diffs) - with optional reports of
      the  revision  history   (remarks   entered   by   the
      developers)  and/or  the  actual  lines  of code which
      changed.

  6.  a   build   subsystem   interface    which    supports
      configuration  of  host-specific  and project-specific
      environment variable settings to be used for a  build;
      the  supplied build interface is for make but the same
      mechanism can be used to custom-fit other command-line
      build    tools    which    derive    their   operating
      characteristics  from  the  environment,  command-line
      arguments   or   flags,   local  control  files  or  a
      combination thereof

  7.  a basic, project-oriented Bug Tracking subsystem which
      includes commands to open, close, defer, kill, reopen,
      take/assign,  update  bug  reports   and   enhancement
      requests as well as a command to generate a variety of
      reports

  8.  a basic runtime  packaging  scheme  which  produces  a
      "package" consisting of a README file for installation
      instructions, an install script and an install archive
      (tar or cpio)

  9.  a  basic  runtime  deployment/promotion  mechanism  to
      manage deployment  of  runtime  packages  through  the
      DEVpkg,  TESTpkg  and  PRODpkg  pseudo-projects in the
      /BriefCase   repository.    Unix   groups   "develop",
      "qatest"  and  "ProdCtl"  can  be  used  to secure and
      isolate access for these  organizations,  if  desired.
      Ideally,  only  runtime  files  (no  source)  would be
      deployed  from  development  to  QA  and  from  QA  to
      Production.   QA  and  Production  staff should not be
      able  to  make  changes  to  development  sources  and
      developers  should  not  be  able  to change a runtime
      package once it has been "promoted" to QA.  The  names
      and  number of promotion groups can be customized with
      shell script changes.

      While QA  and  Production  platforms  may  access  the
      /BriefCase  repository (via a LAN) to obtain a runtime
      package  for  installation,  any  other   distribution
      method may be used.

Like  other /BriefCase commands, these advanced features and
basic facilities are implemented as shell  scripts  and  are
intended  to  be  modified  or  enhanced, as desired, by end
users.

1.5.5  Directory Tree Operations  Most  /BriefCase  commands
map  the user's current working directory to a corresponding
repository directory and  operate  only  on  files  therein,
possibly/optionally recursing into subdirectories.

1.5.6  Modules  Files   To  reduce  the need to specify long
pathnames on CVS commands and to encapsulate groups of files
and   associate  them  with  a  symbolic  name.   /BriefCase
dynamically determines file organizations directly from  the
repository  and  does  not  currently  provide  a  "modules"
equivalent.

1.5.7  Project Initialization and Initial Source File Check-
in  CVS allows (any?) users to import or add a  new  project
directory tree to the repository.

/BriefCase  projects  must  be  initialized by a user in the
"BCadmin" group, after which developers in  the  appropriate
(Unix)  group  can  check  in  an  entire  directory tree, a
portion thereof or individual files  at  any  time,  with  a
single command.

1.5.8  Recursive  Behavior   Generally,  /BriefCase commands
usually  only  on  files  in  the  current   directory   and
recursively  only  when  the  "-R"  flag  is specified.  CVS
commands typically work recursively  and  can  sometimes  be
limited  to the current directory files in with a "-l" flag.

1.5.9  Vendor  Branches   CVS  supports  "Vendor  Branches",
which  are intended to simplify maintaining local changes to
a body of code which originated  from  and  is  periodically
updated  by  a  third party, by "reserving" branch 1.1.1 for
the vendors parallel development path.  Each new release  of
vendor  source  is  checked  in  to branch 1.1.1 and changed
files become new  leaf  revisions  on  that  branch.   Local
changes  can  be merged into the new vendor release with the
cvs update command.

/BriefCase has no formal "vendor  branches",  but  the  same
task can be accomplished using the somewhat more generalized
/BriefCase bciR and nupdate commands.

Merging  the  new  vendor  release  into  the  main  "trunk"
development  path  is  mechanically  the same as merging any
other parallel development path.  If local changes  conflict
with  changes  in  the  vendor's code, they must be resolved
before the vendor branch merge can be completed.

1.5.10  History and Logging  CVS  supports  several  history
and  logging options and maintains data files in addition to
the RCS revision  history.   /BriefCase  does  not  maintain
ancillary  logs  or  databases  but provides report commands
which list the all information available directly  from  the
RCS repository archives.

1.5.11  Working  Directories  To aid with CVS administration
and, possibly, performance,  CVS  creates  and  maintains  a
"CVS"  directory  in  each working directory and states that
"you should not modify or remove any of the files in it".

/BriefCase does not create or depend on any special files or
extra directories in the user's working directories.

1.5.12  Checkout,  Locking  Merging  Strategies   /BriefCase
supports   a   checkout-and-lock   strategy   which   causes
developers  to  be  notified  up-front  if  someone  else is
working on (i.e. has locked) the file revision they want  to
modify.   Checkout  and  lock  of  any  non-tip  or non-leaf
revision will automatically start a new branch  at  check-in
time.   Branches  may  be  merged  into  the  main  trunk as
necessary; temporary fixes may  never  need  to  be  merged.
This strategy is particularly well suited to an organization
with several developers working to  enhance  and/or  support
multiple releases of a software product because:

  1.  developers  know,  in  advance, with whom they need to
      coordinate parallel development efforts  and  have  an
      opportunity  to eliminate redundant effort and discuss
      designs.  As the CVS User manual correctly points  out
      neither   CVS  or  any  other  Software  Configuration
      Management (SCM)  system  "is  not  a  substitute  for
      management ... [or] developer communication"

  2.  parallel  developments  checked-in as different branch
      revisions can be tested and released without impacting
      each other

  3.  once  a  branch  of code achieves stability, it can be
      merged into the main trunk of the revision tree.

CVS uses "unreserved checkout" and may require the developer
to  do  a merge (if another developer's changes were checked
in since his revision of the file was  checked  out)  before
the  "commit"  (check-in) will work.  This strategy causes a
number of problems which do not occur with a  "checkout-and-
lock" strategy:

  1.  you don't know about conflicts until you try to commit
      your changes

  2.  every time you check in, you may need to update and/or
      merge   your   changes   with   the   repository   and
      recompile/retest everything  before  the  commit  will
      succeed  -  and,  if more changes are checked in while
      you're testing, you may have to do it all again...

  3.  committing partial or  less-than-perfect  changes  may
      seriously  impact  the  efforts  of other developers -
      potentially making it impossible for them  to  compile
      their  code.   This  aspect of CVS would seem to limit
      the extent to which it could be used by developers  to
      checkpoint   their  work  during  long  or  nontrivial
      implementations.

and results in a  plethora  of  additional  CVS  "tools"  to
figure  out those things that are more or less implicit with
a checkout-and-lock strategy:

  1.   cvs status - tells if/why  you  need  to  run  a  cvs
      update command

  2.   cvs update - merges new repository versions with your
      local changes - you need to resolve conflicts at  this
      point   and   recompile/test  everything  before  your
      changes can be committed

  3.     cvs   watch   {on|off}   files   -   enable|disable
      notification of [other's] work on files, provided they
      use the cvs edit command to checkout their work  files
      (which sets a pseudo-lock in CVS, not RCS)

  4.   cvs watch {add|remove} ... - add current user to list
      of users to be notified

  5.   cvs edit - notifies "watch" users that you are  about
      to edit file (via email?)

  6.    cvs  unedit  -  notifies  "watch" users that you are
      abandoning a file edit

  7.   cvs watchers - lists users who are watching files

  8.   cvs editor - lists users currently working on files

CVS "branch tags" may  help,  but  I  cannot  say  for  sure
because  of  the  apparently local/private nature of "sticky
tags" and their possible relation to branch tags.

Curiously, these CVS features seem to operate  only  at  the
file  level,  not  the  revision level.  /BriefCase provides
revision level granularity so that if user  Joe  has  locked
revision  2.5  of  file foobar and user Mary needs to change
revision 1.7 (e.g. to fix a bug in a prior release), Mary is
not  (nor  should she be) informed of Joe's lock on revision
2.5  when  she  checks  out  and  locks  foobar   rev   1.7.
Furthermore,  Joe's changes will be checked in a rev 2.6 (as
one would expect) and Mary's changes will  automatically  be
checked  in  as  the  start  of  a new branch revision (e.g.
1.7.2.1).

The CVS User manual mentions  a  checkout-and-lock  strategy
and  proceeds  to dismiss it as "counter productive" because
they  feel  it  somehow  prevents  parallel  development   -
apparently  ignorant  of the fact that branch revisions were
designed to do just that!  The CVS User manual  talks  about
"branch  tags" (a combination of a tag and an initial branch
revision) and further confuses things with "sticky" tags and
dates that "apply to subsequent commands in this directory",
until you do a cvs update -A (??) which  appears  to  remove
(all?) sticky tags.

Given this arcane aggregation of tags and branches, it would
seem that the authors of CVS  did  not  understand  how  the
author  of  RCS (Walter Tichey) intended branch revisions to
be used (clearly documented in the RCS documentation).

1.5.13  Security  Both CVS and /BriefCase use Unix file  and
directory  permissions  to isolate projects by groupid.  For
example, if there were three development groups  working  of
separate  "projects",  each  group  would  have its own Unix
groups (i.e. their own groupids  in  /etc/group)  for  their
developers and, possibly, their own QA and ProdCtl staffs.

/BriefCase, in addition, uses a special groupid (BCadmin) to
restrict release  management  operations  which  may  impact
tagged release integrity, file revision history, new project
initiation, build environment configuration and  dev/qa/prod
promotions.

1.5.14  History   File  Integrity   Some  simplistic  remote
repository implementations (e.g. PVCS) ignore the  potential
for  history  file  corruption  by using whatever version of
their revision control software is installed on  the  client
to manipulate shared history files on the server.

Both  /BriefCase  and CVS perform history file updates using
only server-side software.   Repository  corruption  due  to
incompatible  versions of the revision control software are,
therefore, eliminated.

1.5.15  Ongoing   Development    /BriefCase   is   currently
maintained  by  the  author with new releases made available
for  download  at   their   web   site   (http://applied-cs-
inc.com/BriefCase/download).  The current production release
is 2.4b and the latest alpha release is 3.0.   CVS  has  had
numerous   authors   and  contributors  and  has  seemed  to
stabilize at at release 1.9 or 1.10.


1.5.16  Other /BriefCase Features with no CVS Analogs

  1.  certain /BriefCase commands are restricted to users in
      the  BCadmin  group,  e.g. project initiation, release
      tag  management,  obsolete  a  revision  or  logically
      remove (nzap) a file

  2.  Automatic   maintenance  of  a  customizable  "#ident"
      string for classes of filenames (based on filename  or
      extension recognition with a reg.  expression)

  3.  comprehensive  tag  management  and reporting features
      for  both  user-assigned  tags  and   BCadmin-assigned
      release management tags

  4.  make  interface  to  set  up compile-host-specific and
      project-specific "build" environment  -  suitable  for
      multi-platform and multi-target projects

  5.  simple   runtime   packaging  scripts  and  deployment
      strategy

  6.  simple Project  BugReport/EnhancementRequest  tracking
      system

  7.  advanced,   presentation-quality   (typeset   or  HTML
      format) reports detailing tagged release contents  and
      differences between tagged releases

  8.  detailed reports of revision activity

  9.  comprehensive  change  report  enumerating differences
      between the  current  working  directory  tree  and  a
      corresponding  tagged  release or tip revisions in the
      repository

 10.  numerous simple  report  commands  which  extract  and
      display  useful  information  about  files, revisions,
      history, tags, etc., from the repository

1.5.17  CVS Features with no /Briefcase Analogs

  1.  modules file - allows arbitrary aggregation  of  files
      within a project

  2.  commit  wrappers  -  allow custom processing at commit
      time

1.6  Miscellaneous Considerations

   o CVS operations depend  upon  the  existence  of  a  CVS
     subdirectory  in  every  working  project directory and
     cautions users  not  to  modify  or  delete  any  files
     contained therein.

   o Some   CVS  operations  seem  somewhat  disjoint.   For
     example, to obsolete or logically remove  source  files
     under CVS control, a developer must:

       1.  rm  -f  files...   #  erase the local files to be
           removed

       2.  cvs remove file... # prepare to logically  remove
           repository files

       3.  cvs  commit  # actually move repository files "to
           the Attic"

     In /BriefCase, the "nzap files..." command does steps 2
     and 3 and does not require step 1.  A subsequent check-
     out of any release after the file  gets  "zapped"  will
     remove the local file, if necessary.

     To  add a new file or directory tree to an existing CVS
     project, one apparently needs to do a "cvs add"  and  a
     "cvs commit" to get the job done.  With /BriefCase, the
     command "nci files..." or "nciR dirname" does it all.

     /BriefCase commands are "self-contained" in  that  they
     do not set-up for or depend upon some other command(s),
     e.g. cvs add sets up for cvs commit (check-in).

     In general, /BriefCase commands tend to be more concise
     and have fewer options than their CVS counterparts and,
     thus, may be easier to learn and use.  The CVS  command
     syntax, for example sports two sets of option flags:

             cvs [cvs options] cvs-command [command options] [args]


     where  the  cvs options (bTdefHlnQqrstvwxz) and command
     options  (DfHklmnPpWr)  overlap   and   some   of   the
     overlapping   flags  (lnr)  cause  radically  different
     results if placed in the wrong order.

   o /BriefCase  developers  can  check-in  (commit)   their
     changes,    whenever    they    want    to    save    a
     checkpoint/milestone in their code,  without  impacting
     developers  or  maintainers working on other changes to
     the same sources.  This  promotes  use  as  a  tool  to
     manage  multiple  phases of a work in progress - one of
     the most valuable features of RCS.

     The  CVS  concept  of  "commit"  mandates   that   only
     complete, "working" code should be committed and limits
     its use  as  a  tool  to  manage  concurrent,  parallel
     development paths as works-in-progress.

   o CVS  combines the concepts of tags and branch revisions
     in such a way that it complicates  the  use  of  branch
     revisions  to  manage  concurrent, parallel development
     paths.

   o CVS is written in the C  language.   /BriefCase  client
     and  server  side code is implemented entirely as shell
     scripts with a few awk scripts and, thus, may be easier
     for many end-users to maintain and/or enhance.

   o The default recursion (through subdirectories) may make
     CVS more difficult to use and recovery from a "mistake"
     that   commits   too   much   may  be  more  difficult.
     /BriefCase commands which change the repository tend to
     be conservative in their default behaviors.

   o CVS  operation  can be "customized" through a number of
     optional,   ancillary   files   that   live   in    the
     $CVSROOT/CVSROOT directory.