rcs(1)																	    rcs(1)

NAME

       rcs - change RCS file attributes

SYNOPSIS

       rcs [options] file...

OPTIONS

       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 current directory. If the RCS file already exists, print an error message.	Append the login names appearing in the comma-sep-
       arated  list  logins  to the access list of the RCS file.  Append the access list of oldfile to the access list of the RCS file.  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.   Set  the  default branch to rev.  If rev is omitted, the default branch is reset to the (dynamically) highest branch on the
       trunk.  sets the comment leader to string.  The comment leader is printed before every log message line generated by the keyword $Log$ dur-
       ing  checkout  (see  co(1)). This is useful for programming languages without multi-line comments. An initial ci , or an rcs -i without -c,
       guesses the comment leader from the suffix of the working file.	Set the default keyword substitution to subst. The effect of keyword  sub-
       stitution  is  described  in  co(1).   Giving  an  explicit -k option to co, rcsdiff, and rcsmerge overrides this default.  Beware rcs -kv,
       because -kv is incompatible with co -l. Use rcs -kkv to restore the normal default keyword substitution.  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 or rcs -u (see below).  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 may unlock it. Somebody else unlocking a revision breaks the lock. This causes a mail message to be sent to the origi-
       nal  locker.   The  message contains a commentary solicited from the breaker. The commentary is terminated by end-of-file or by a line con-
       taining by itself.  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.  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 normally strict.  Replace revision rev's log message with msg.  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 con-
       trasts with rcs -nname:$ RCS/* which associates name with the revision numbers extracted from keyword strings in the corresponding  working
       files.	Act like -n, except override any previous assignment of name.  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 may  have  branches
       or  locks.   Run  quietly;  do  not  print  diagnostics.   Run  interactively, even if the standard input is not a terminal.  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.	Write descriptive text from the  contents  of  the
       named file into the RCS file, deleting the existing text. The file pathname may not begin with -.  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.  Write descriptive text from the string into the RCS file, deleting the existing
       text.  Emulate RCS version n. See co(1) for details.  Use suffixes to characterize RCS files. See ci(1) for details.

DESCRIPTION

       rcs creates new 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 to work, the caller's login name must be on the access list, except if the
       access list is empty, the caller is the owner of the file or the superuser, or the -i option is present.

       Pathnames matching an RCS suffix denote RCS files; all others denote working files. Names are paired as explained in ci(1).  Revision  num-
       bers use the syntax described in ci(1).

COMPATIBILITY

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

       The -ksubst 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 version 5.5 and earlier does not support the -x option, and requires a ,v suffix on an RCS pathname.

RESTRICTIONS

       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.

FILES

       rcs  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

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

DIAGNOSTICS

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

IDENTIFICATION

       Author: Walter F. Tichy.
       Revision Number: 1.1.6.2; Release Date: 1993/10/07.
       Copyright (C) 1982, 1988, 1989 by Walter F. Tichy.
       Copyright (C) 1990, 1991 by Paul Eggert.

SEE ALSO

       co(1), ci(1), ident(1), rcsdiff(1), rcsintro(1), rcsmerge(1), rlog(1), rcsfile(5)

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

																	    rcs(1)