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1 1 Mercurial Frequently Asked Questions
2 ====================================
2 3
3 4 Section 1: General Usage
4 5 ------------------------
5 6
6 Q. I did an 'hg pull' and my working directory is empty!
7 .Q. I did an "hg pull" and my working directory is empty!
7 8
8 9 There are two parts to Mercurial: the repository and the working
9 directory. 'hg pull' pulls all new changes from a remote repository
10 directory. "hg pull" pulls all new changes from a remote repository
10 11 into the local one but doesn't alter the working directory.
11 12
12 13 This keeps you from upsetting your work in progress, which may not be
13 14 ready to merge with the new changes you've pulled and also allows you
14 15 to manage merging more easily (see below about best practices).
15 16
16 To update your working directory, run 'hg update'. If you're sure you
17 want to update your working directory on a pull, you can also use 'hg
18 pull -u'. This will refuse to merge or overwrite local changes.
17 To update your working directory, run "hg update". If you're sure you
18 want to update your working directory on a pull, you can also use "hg
19 pull -u". This will refuse to merge or overwrite local changes.
19 20
20 21
21 Q. What is the difference between revision numbers, changeset IDs,
22 and tags?
22 .Q. What are revision numbers, changeset IDs, and tags?
23 23
24 24 Mercurial will generally allow you to refer to a revision in three
25 25 ways: by revision number, by changeset ID, and by tag.
@@ -46,7 +46,7 b' correspondence to a changeset ID. This l'
46 46 symbolically.
47 47
48 48
49 Q. What are branches, heads, and the tip?
49 .Q. What are branches, heads, and the tip?
50 50
51 51 The central concept of Mercurial is branching. A 'branch' is simply
52 52 an independent line of development. In most other version control
@@ -56,12 +56,12 b' effectively works on a private branch an'
56 56 of 'the main branch'.
57 57
58 58 Thus Mercurial works hard to make repeated merging between branches
59 easy. Simply run 'hg pull' and 'hg update -m' and commit the result.
59 easy. Simply run "hg pull" and "hg update -m" and commit the result.
60 60
61 61 'Heads' are simply the most recent commits on a branch. Technically,
62 62 they are changesets which have no children. Merging is the process of
63 63 joining points on two branches into one, usually at their current
64 heads. Use 'hg heads' to find the heads in the current repository.
64 heads. Use "hg heads" to find the heads in the current repository.
65 65
66 66 The 'tip' is the most recently changed head, and also the highest
67 67 numbered revision. If you have just made a commit, that commit will be
@@ -72,10 +72,10 b" The 'tip' is the default revision for ma"
72 72 and also functions as a special symbolic tag.
73 73
74 74
75 Q. How does merging work?
75 .Q. How does merging work?
76 76
77 77 The merge process is simple. Usually you will want to merge the tip
78 into your working directory. Thus you run 'hg update -m' and Mercurial
78 into your working directory. Thus you run "hg update -m" and Mercurial
79 79 will incorporate the changes from tip into your local changes.
80 80
81 81 The first step of this process is tracing back through the history of
@@ -99,7 +99,7 b' that would lose important history that w'
99 99 merges.
100 100
101 101
102 Q. How do tags work in Mercurial?
102 .Q. How do tags work in Mercurial?
103 103
104 104 Tags work slightly differently in Mercurial than most revision
105 105 systems. The design attempts to meet the following requirements:
@@ -112,8 +112,8 b' systems. The design attempts to meet the'
112 112 Thus Mercurial stores tags as a file in the working dir. This file is
113 113 called .hgtags and consists of a list of changeset IDs and their
114 114 corresponding tags. To add a tag to the system, simply add a line to
115 this file and then commit it for it to take effect. The 'hg tag'
116 command will do this for you and 'hg tags' will show the currently
115 this file and then commit it for it to take effect. The "hg tag"
116 command will do this for you and "hg tags" will show the currently
117 117 effective tags.
118 118
119 119 Note that because tags refer to changeset IDs and the changeset ID is
@@ -121,13 +121,14 b' effectively the sum of all the contents '
121 121 change, it is impossible in Mercurial to simultaneously commit and add
122 122 a tag. Thus tagging a revision must be done as a second step.
123 123
124 Q. How do tags work with multiple heads?
124
125 .Q. How do tags work with multiple heads?
125 126
126 127 The tags that are in effect at any given time are the tags specified
127 128 in each head, with heads closer to the tip taking precedence.
128 129
129 130
130 Q. What are some best practices for distributed development with Mercurial?
131 .Q. What are some best practices for distributed development with Mercurial?
131 132
132 133 First, merge often! This makes merging easier for everyone and you
133 134 find out about conflicts (which are often rooted in incompatible
@@ -143,21 +144,21 b' pull multiple copies over the network. N'
143 144 as you won't be changing them.
144 145
145 146 The outgoing tree contains all the changes you intend for merger into
146 upsteam. Publish this tree with 'hg serve' or hgweb.cgi or use 'hg
147 push' to push it to another publicly availabe repository.
147 upsteam. Publish this tree with 'hg serve" or hgweb.cgi or use 'hg
148 push" to push it to another publicly availabe repository.
148 149
149 150 Then, for each feature you work on, create a new tree. Commit early
150 151 and commit often, merge with incoming regularly, and once you're
151 152 satisfied with your feature, pull the changes into your outgoing tree.
152 153
153 154
154 Q. How do I import from a repository created in a different SCM?
155 .Q. How do I import from a repository created in a different SCM?
155 156
156 157 Take a look at contrib/convert-repo. This is an extensible
157 158 framework for converting between repository types.
158 159
159 160
160 Q. What about Windows support?
161 .Q. What about Windows support?
161 162
162 163 Patches to support Windows are being actively integrated, a fully
163 164 working Windows version is probably not far off
@@ -166,7 +167,7 b' working Windows version is probably not '
166 167 Section 2: Technical
167 168 --------------------
168 169
169 Q. What limits does Mercurial have?
170 .Q. What limits does Mercurial have?
170 171
171 172 Mercurial currently assumes that single files, indices, and manifests
172 173 can fit in memory for efficiency.
@@ -186,7 +187,7 b' Mercurial is primarily developed for UNI'
186 187 may be present in ports.
187 188
188 189
189 Q. How does signing work?
190 .Q. How does signing work?
190 191
191 192 Take a look at the hgeditor script for an example. The basic idea
192 193 is to sign the manifest ID inside that changelog entry. The manifest
@@ -201,7 +202,7 b' This manifest is hashed similarly to the'
201 202 the hashes of the parent revisions.
202 203
203 204
204 Q. What about hash collisions? What about weaknesses in SHA1?
205 .Q. What about hash collisions? What about weaknesses in SHA1?
205 206
206 207 The SHA1 hashes are large enough that the odds of accidental hash collision
207 208 are negligible for projects that could be handled by the human race.
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