Way to create a shorcut to files using subversion? (windows)

svn

I was wondering if there is a way to create a shortcut to files using subversion.

the situation is like that:

My projects structures look something like that:

 \bin

    private_binary.exe
    public_binary.exe

 \documentation

    private_doc.doc
    public_doc.pfd

 \sources
    ...

When commiting a change – it is alsorequired to transfer only the public binaries/documentations to the QA team for testing. We are now doing that by simply coping the relevant files to a network drive owned by the QA.

My thoughts are to create a new folder within the project: QA. then, to create a shotcuts to the relevant public files

something like that:

 \bin
     private_binary.exe
     public_binary.exe
 \sources\
     private_doc.doc
     public_doc.pfd

  \QA
     shortcut to public_binary.exe
     shortcut to public_doc.pdf

this way, the QA team will just have to go to the \QA folder of the latest revision and and will have safe access to the correct files.

is it possible? if not, I'll glad to hear any workarounds/ how do you publish your stuff to the QA teams.

Many Thanks,

Ofer

Best Solution

Check the documentation under svn:externals which is probably the in-built facility closest to what you are asking for. Like you I'll be interested to learn what others are doing.

Marking files as ignored:

By "ignored file" I mean the file won't appear in lists even as "unversioned": your SVN client will pretend the file doesn't exist at all in the filesystem.

Ignored files are specified by a "file pattern". The syntax and format of file patterns is explained in SVN's online documentation: http://svnbook.red-bean.com/nightly/en/svn.advanced.props.special.ignore.html "File Patterns in Subversion".

Subversion, as of version 1.8 (June 2013) and later, supports 3 different ways of specifying file patterns. Here's a summary with examples:

1 - Runtime Configuration Area - `global-ignores` option:

This is a client-side only setting, so your global-ignores list won't be shared by other users, and it applies to all repos you checkout onto your computer.
This setting is defined in your Runtime Configuration Area file:
- Windows (file-based) - C:\Users\{you}\AppData\Roaming\Subversion\config
- Windows (registry-based) - Software\Tigris.org\Subversion\Config\Miscellany\global-ignores in both HKLM and HKCU.
- Linux/Unix - ~/.subversion/config

2 - The `svn:ignore` property, which is set on directories (not files):

This is stored within the repo, so other users will have the same ignore files. Similar to how .gitignore works.
svn:ignore is applied to directories and is non-recursive or inherited. Any file or immediate subdirectory of the parent directory that matches the File Pattern will be excluded.

While SVN 1.8 adds the concept of "inherited properties", the svn:ignore property itself is ignored in non-immediate descendant directories:

cd ~/myRepoRoot                             # Open an existing repo.
echo "foo" > "ignoreThis.txt"                # Create a file called "ignoreThis.txt".

svn status                                  # Check to see if the file is ignored or not.
> ?    ./ignoreThis.txt
> 1 unversioned file                        # ...it is NOT currently ignored.

svn propset svn:ignore "ignoreThis.txt" .   # Apply the svn:ignore property to the "myRepoRoot" directory.
svn status
> 0 unversioned files                       # ...but now the file is ignored!

cd subdirectory                             # now open a subdirectory.
echo "foo" > "ignoreThis.txt"                # create another file named "ignoreThis.txt".

svn status
> ?    ./subdirectory/ignoreThis.txt        # ...and is is NOT ignored!
> 1 unversioned file

(So the file ./subdirectory/ignoreThis is not ignored, even though "ignoreThis.txt" is applied on the . repo root).

Therefore, to apply an ignore list recursively you must use svn propset svn:ignore <filePattern> . --recursive.
- This will create a copy of the property on every subdirectory.
- If the <filePattern> value is different in a child directory then the child's value completely overrides the parents, so there is no "additive" effect.
- So if you change the <filePattern> on the root ., then you must change it with --recursive to overwrite it on the child and descendant directories.
I note that the command-line syntax is counter-intuitive.
- I started-off assuming that you would ignore a file in SVN by typing something like svn ignore pathToFileToIgnore.txt however this is not how SVN's ignore feature works.

3- The `svn:global-ignores` property. Requires SVN 1.8 (June 2013):

This is similar to svn:ignore, except it makes use of SVN 1.8's "inherited properties" feature.
Compare to svn:ignore, the file pattern is automatically applied in every descendant directory (not just immediate children).
- This means that is unnecessary to set svn:global-ignores with the --recursive flag, as inherited ignore file patterns are automatically applied as they're inherited.

Running the same set of commands as in the previous example, but using svn:global-ignores instead:

cd ~/myRepoRoot                                    # Open an existing repo
echo "foo" > "ignoreThis.txt"                       # Create a file called "ignoreThis.txt"
svn status                                         # Check to see if the file is ignored or not
> ?    ./ignoreThis.txt
> 1 unversioned file                               # ...it is NOT currently ignored

svn propset svn:global-ignores "ignoreThis.txt" .
svn status
> 0 unversioned files                              # ...but now the file is ignored!

cd subdirectory                                    # now open a subdirectory
echo "foo" > "ignoreThis.txt"                       # create another file named "ignoreThis.txt"
svn status
> 0 unversioned files                              # the file is ignored here too!

For TortoiseSVN users:

This whole arrangement was confusing for me, because TortoiseSVN's terminology (as used in their Windows Explorer menu system) was initially misleading to me - I was unsure what the significance of the Ignore menu's "Add recursively", "Add *" and "Add " options. I hope this post explains how the Ignore feature ties-in to the SVN Properties feature. That said, I suggest using the command-line to set ignored files so you get a feel for how it works instead of using the GUI, and only using the GUI to manipulate properties after you're comfortable with the command-line.

Listing files that are ignored:

The command svn status will hide ignored files (that is, files that match an RGA global-ignores pattern, or match an immediate parent directory's svn:ignore pattern or match any ancesor directory's svn:global-ignores pattern.

Use the --no-ignore option to see those files listed. Ignored files have a status of I, then pipe the output to grep to only show lines starting with "I".

The command is:

svn status --no-ignore | grep "^I"

For example:

svn status
> ? foo                             # An unversioned file
> M modifiedFile.txt                # A versioned file that has been modified

svn status --no-ignore
> ? foo                             # An unversioned file
> I ignoreThis.txt                  # A file matching an svn:ignore pattern
> M modifiedFile.txt                # A versioned file that has been modified

svn status --no-ignore | grep "^I"
> I ignoreThis.txt                  # A file matching an svn:ignore pattern

ta-da!

R – ASP.NET Projects with Subversion (VisualSVN Client) – What files should I ignore

Not really 'definitive', but I always ignore .suo and .user files and the bin/ and obj/ directories

Best Solution

Related Solutions

How to ignore files in Subversion

Marking files as ignored:

1 - Runtime Configuration Area - global-ignores option:

2 - The svn:ignore property, which is set on directories (not files):

3- The svn:global-ignores property. Requires SVN 1.8 (June 2013):