Item4863: Removal of RcsDirs feature (was RcsWrap does not support RcsDirs)

Support-Web

The RcsWrap module does not support the use of RCS directories ( {RCS}{useSubDir} = TRUE) in TWiki-Version 4.12.

The problem raises while saving an attachment in a topic that has had no attachment before: RcsWrap does not assure the existence of the RCS directory in the pub dir and so the initBinaryCmd fails.

I was able to solve the problem by changing the code of RcsWrap.pm but I'm neither a perl-programmer nor a TWiki developer so it's probably a terrible hack:

l added the two last lines:

# implements RcsFile 
sub initBinary {
     my( $this ) = @_;
      $this->{binary} = 1;
      TWiki::Store::RcsFile::_mkPathTo( $this->{file} );
     # BDH (10.8.2007) make sure directory for rcsFile exists:
     TWiki::Store::RcsFile::_mkPathTo( $this->{rcsFile} ); 

-- TWiki:Main/BeatDoebeli - 20 Oct 2007

also see TWiki:Support.CreateWebDoesNotCreateRCSdirectory.

From what I've just expereinced, this feature is pretty broken, and quite untested. Attachments really cause trouble, and migrating from non useSubDirs (or back) is a bear.

-- TWiki:Main.SvenDowideit - 11 Feb 2008

Other references: http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/UsingRCSDirectoryResultsInInitalVersionAndBrokenDiff

Why do we even support this? It appears to have been a throwaway request that was just acted on without any real analysis:

http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/KeepRcsAndTxtInDifferentPlaces

Since we know it doesn't work, and nobody before Beat has reported it, why don't we just dump the feature? The alternative is to write tests and make sure it does work.

-- CrawfordCurrie - 12 Feb 2008

+1 for dumping - the argumentation that the need for the feature is not there seems right to me.

-- TWiki:Main.SteffenPoulsen - 12 Feb 2008

+1 for dumping

-- TWiki:Main.KennethLavrsen - 19 Feb 2008

We should use the release process to remove such a feature and make sure that users of older versions of TWiki where it worked can still upgrade. I am sure it worked at some point.

-- TWiki:Main.KennethLavrsen - 20 Feb 2008

Raised TWiki:Codev/DeprecateRcsDirectoriesFeature

-- TWiki:Main.KennethLavrsen - 04 Mar 2008

So far reactions are that it never worked. We will give the feature request another week and decide at next release meeting if it is to be removed (for 4.2.1 removed means un-documented, and setting removed from configure with a search in the code for where the setting is used to disable the code hardcoded.

-- TWiki:Main.KennethLavrsen - 17 Mar 2008

working on the code to remove the feature

-- TWiki:Main.KennethLavrsen - 07 Apr 2008

Done

-- TWiki:Main.KennethLavrsen - 07 Apr 2008