Re: [HACKERS] PostgreSQL v6.5 - Tagged

On Tue, Jul 13, 1999 at 03:26:22PM -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
> The Hermit Hacker <scrappy@hub.org> writes:
> > On Tue, 13 Jul 1999, Tom Lane wrote:
> >> Er, don't you need to make a branch, not just tags?
> 
> > Ya know something, after all these years, I'm still not 100% of the
> > difference between the two :(
> 
> I'm not either ... I just saw that cvs log was reporting it differently
> than it did for the REL6_4 stuff.

My understanding is that a tag is just a convenient way to cluster a
set of file versions so they can be checked out together. In practice,
it's usually synonymous with using a particular -D date flag.

A branch, on the other hand, allows the dreaded double patching - the
branch can now evolve independently of the trunk, perhaps to be merged
later, perhaps not. If you double patch, no need to merge, just abandon
the branch when it gets too different.

Ross 
(This is, of course, just my understanding, not backed by years of using
CVS in a branching environment)

-- 
Ross J. Reedstrom, Ph.D., <reedstrm@rice.edu> 
NSBRI Research Scientist/Programmer
Computer and Information Technology Institute
Rice University, 6100 S. Main St.,  Houston, TX 77005