Guided Tour of CVS for NetBeans IDE 6.0

Opening a CVS Project in the IDE

If you already have a CVS versioned project which you have been working with outside of the IDE, you can open it in the IDE and versioning features will automatically become available to you. The IDE scans your open projects and if they contain CVS directories, file status and context-sensitive support automatically becomes active for CVS versioned projects.

Checking out Files from a Repository

If you want to connect to a remote repository from the IDE, then check out files and immediately begin working with them, do the following:

1. In NetBeans IDE, choose Versioning > CVS > Checkout from the main menu. The Checkout wizard opens.
   
   Note: The IDE's drop-down menus are context-sensitive, i.e. the available options depend on the item currently selected. Therefore, if you are already working within a CVS project, you can choose Versioning > Checkout from the main menu.
2. In the first panel of the wizard, enter the location of the repository as can be defined by CVSROOT:
   
   The IDE supports a number of CVSROOT formats, depending on whether the CVS repository is local or remote, and what method you are using to connect to it:
   
   

   Method	Description	Example
   pserver	Remote password server	:pserver:username@hostname:/repository_path
   ext	Access using Remote Shell (RSH) or Secure Shell (SSH)	:ext:username@hostname:/repository_path
   local	Access to a local repository	:local:/repository_path (requires an external CVS executable)
   fork	Access to local repository using a remote protocol	:fork:/repository_path (requires an external CVS executable)

   
   Depending on the method you are using you may need to specify other information, such as a password and proxy settings for connecting to a remote repository (e.g. for pserver). Click Next.
   
   Note: If you are trying to set up public key SSH authentication, see: How to set up public key SSH authentication?.
   
   For more help with accessing local repositories, see: How can I access local repositories?
3. In the Modules to Checkout panel of the wizard, specify the module that you want to check out in the Module field. If you do not know the name of the module you want to check out, click the Browse button to view the repository's contents. From the Browse CVS Module dialog that appears, select any of the listed modules and click OK. Your selection is then added to the Module field:
   
   
4. In the Branch text field, enter the name of the branch to checkout. You can click the Browse button to open the Browse Tags dialog box to search for available branches and tags. If you do not specify a branch or tag, the trunk is checked out.
5. In the Local Folder field, enter a location on your computer where you want files to be checked out to, then click Finish to initiate the CVS check out. The IDE checks out the specified sources and the IDE's status bar displays in the lower right corner, indicating progress of the files downloading from the repository to your local directory. You can also view files as they are being checked out from the Output window (Ctrl-4).
   
   Note: If the checked out sources contain NetBeans projects, a dialog appears prompting you to open them in the IDE. If the sources do not contain a project, the dialog appears prompting you to create a new project from the sources and then open them in the IDE. If you create a new project for such sources, select the appropriate project category (i.e. in the New Project wizard) and then use the With Existing Sources option within that category.

Importing Files into a Repository.

Alternately, you can import a project you have been working on in the IDE to a remote repository, then continue to work on it in the IDE after it has become versioned with the CVS repository.

Note: While you are actually exporting files from your system, the term 'import' is used in version control systems to signify that files are being imported into a repository.

To import a project to a repository:

1. From the Projects window (Ctrl-1), select an unversioned project and choose Versioning > Import into CVS Repository from the node's right-click menu. The CVS Import wizard opens.
2. In the CVS Root panel of the Import wizard, specify the location of the repository as defined by CVSROOT. Depending on the method you are using you may need to specify other information, such as a password and proxy settings for connecting to a remote repository (e.g. for pserver). Click Next.
3. In the Folder to Import panel, specify the local folder you want to place in the repository. The name of your project is suggested for you in the Folder to Import text field by default:
   
   
4. In the Import Message text area, enter a description of the project you are importing into the repository.
5. Specify the location in the repository where you want to import the project by typing in the path in the Repository Folder text field. Alternatively, click the Browse button to navigate to a specific location in the repository. Click Finish to initiate the import. The IDE uploads the project files to the repository and the Output window opens to display the progress.

Viewing Changes in the Source Editor

When you open a versioned file in the IDE's Source Editor, you can view real-time changes occurring to your file as you modify it against your previously checked-out base version from the repository. As you work, the IDE uses color encoding in the Source Editor's margins to convey the following information:

Blue (       )	Indicates lines that have been changed since the earlier revision.
Green (       )	Indicates lines that have been added since the earlier revision.
Red (       )	Indicates lines that have been removed since the earlier revision.

The Source Editor's left margin shows changes occurring on a line-by-line basis. When you modify a given line, changes are immediately shown in the left margin.

You can click on a color grouping in the margin to call versioning commands. For example, the screen capture below left shows widgets available to you when clicking a red icon, indicating that lines have been removed from your local copy.

The Source Editor's right margin provides you with an overview that displays changes made to your file as a whole, from top to bottom. Color encoding is generated immediately when you make changes to your file.

Note that you can click on a specific point within the margin to bring your inline cursor immediately to that location in the file. To view the number of lines affected, hover your mouse over the colored icons in the right margin:

Left margin

Right margin

Viewing File Status Information

When you are working in the Projects (Ctrl-1), Files (Ctrl-2), Favorites (Ctrl-3), or Versioning windows, the IDE provides several visual features that aid in viewing status information about your files. In the example below, notice how the badge (e.g. ), color of the file name, and adjacent status label, all coincide with each other to provide you with a simple but effective way to keep track of versioning information on your files:

Badges, color coding, file status labels, and perhaps most importantly, the Versioning window all contribute to your ability to effectively view and manage and versioning information in the IDE.

• Badges and Color Coding
• File Status Labels
• The Versioning Window

Comparing File Revisions

Comparing file revisions is a common task when working with versioned projects. The IDE enables you to compare revisions by using the Diff command, which is available from the right-click menu of a selected item (CVS > Diff), as well as from the Versioning window. In the Versioning window, you can perform diffs by either double-clicking a listed file, otherwise you can click the Diff All icon () located in the toolbar at the top.

When you perform a diff, a graphical Diff Viewer opens for the selected file(s) and revisions in the IDE's main window. The Diff Viewer displays two copies in side-by-side panels. The more current copy appears on the right side, so if you are comparing a repository revision against your working copy, the working copy displays in the right panel:

The Diff Viewer makes use of the same color encoding used elsewhere to display version control changes. In the screen capture displayed above, the green block indicates content that has been added to the more current revision. The red block indicates that content from the earlier revision has been removed from the later. Blue indicates that changes have occurred within the highlighted line(s).

Also, when performing a diff on a group of files, such as on a project, package, or folder, or when clicking Diff All (), you can switch between diffs by clicking files listed in the upper region of the Diff Viewer.

The Diff Viewer also provides you with the following functionality:

• Make Changes to your Local Working Copy
• Navigate Among Differences
• Change Viewing Criteria

Make Changes to your Local Working Copy

If you are performing a diff on your local working copy, NetBeans IDE 6.0 enables you to make changes directly from within the Diff Viewer. To do so, you can either place your cursor within the right pane of the Diff Viewer and modify your file accordingly, otherwise make use of the inline icons that display adjacent to each highlighted change:

Replace ():	Inserts the highlighted text from the previous revision into the current revision
Move All ():	Reverts the file's current revision to the state of the selected previous revision
Remove ():	Removes the highlighted text from the current revision so that it mirrors the previous revision

Navigate among Differences between Compared Files

If your diff contains multiple differences, you can navigate among them by using the arrow icons displayed in the toolbar. The arrow icons enable you to view differences as they appear from top to bottom:

Previous ():	Goes to previous difference displayed in the diff
Next ():	Goes to next difference displayed in the diff

Change Viewing Criteria

You can choose whether to view files containing changes from the local working copy, the repository, as well as both simultaneously:

Local ():	Displays locally modified files only
Remote ():	Displays remotely modified files only
Both ():	Displays both locally and remotely modified files

Updating Local Copies

You can perform updates by choosing CVS > Update from the right-click menu of any versioned item in the Projects, Files, or Favorites windows. When working directly from the Versioning window, you need only right-click a listed file and choose Update.

To perform an update on sources that you have modified, you can click the Update All icon (), which displays in the toolbars located at the top of both the Versioning Window, as well as the Diff Viewer. Any changes that may have occurred in the repository are displayed in the Versioning Output window.

Resolving Conflicts

When you perform an update or a commit, the IDE's CVS support compares your files with repository sources to make sure that other changes have not already occurred in the same locations. When your previous checkout (or update) no longer matches the repository HEAD (i.e. most current revision), and the changes that you applied to your local working copy coincide with areas in the HEAD that have also changed, your update or commit results in a conflict.

As indicated in Badges and Color Coding, conflicts are displayed in the IDE with red text and are accompanied by a red badge () when viewed in the Projects, Files, or Favorites windows. When working in the Versioning window, conflicts are also indicated by a file's status:

Any conflicts that arise must be resolved before you commit files to the repository. You can resolve conflicts in the IDE using the Merge Conflicts Resolver. The Merge Conflicts Resolver provides an intuitive interface that enables you to address individual conflicts sequentially while viewing merged output as you make changes. You can access the Merge Conflicts Resolver on a file that is in conflict by right-clicking that file and choosing CVS > Resolve Conflicts.

The Merge Conflicts Resolver displays the two conflicting revisions side-by-side in the top pane, with the conflicting areas highlighted. The lower pane depicts the file as it appears while merges for individual conflicts between the two revisions occur:



You resolve a conflict by accepting one of the two revisions displayed in the top pane. Click the Accept button of the revision you want to accept. The IDE merges the accepted revision with the source file, and you can immediately see the results of the merge in the bottom pane of the Merge Conflicts Resolver. Once all conflicts are resolved, click OK to exit the Merge Conflicts Resolver and save the modified file. The conflict badge is removed and you can now commit the modified file to the repository.

Performing the Commit

After editing source files, performing an update and resolving any conflicts, you commit files from your local working copy to the repository. The IDE enables you to call the commit command in the following ways:

• From the Projects, Files or Favorites windows, right-click new or modified items and choose CVS > Commit.
• From the Versioning window or Diff Viewer, click the Commit All () button located in the toolbar.

The Commit dialog opens, displaying files that are about to be committed to the repository:

The Commit dialog lists:

• all locally modified files
• all files that have been deleted locally
• all new files (i.e. files that do not yet exist in the repository)
• all files that you have renamed. CVS handles renamed files by deleting the original file, and creating a duplicate using the new name.

From the Commit dialog, it is possible to specify whether to exclude individual files from the commit. To do so, click the Commit Action column of a selected file and choose Exclude from Commit from the drop-down list. Similarly, when new files are included, you can specify the MIME type by choosing Add as Binary or Add as Text from the drop-down list.

To perform the commit:

1. Type in a commit message in the Commit Message text area. Alternatively, click the Recent Messages () icon located in the upper right corner to view and select from a list of messages that you have previously used.
2. After specifying actions for individual files, click Commit. The IDE executes the commit and sends your local changes to the repository. The IDE's status bar, located in the bottom right of the interface, displays as the commit action takes place. Upon a successful commit, versioning badges disappear in the Projects, Files and Favorites windows, and the color encoding of committed files returns to black.