"svn propset svn:externals" syntax on Windows command line

[Ben Johnson]

Hello,

I've wasted far too much time attempting to discern the correct syntax
for setting svn:externals properties, *pinned with explicit revision
numbers*, via the Windows command line.

While I realize that this question is not TSVN-specific, I am hoping the
TSVN developers can provide some insight, because clearly, this very
capability has been implemented in TSVN.

I am trying to emulate TSVN's svn:externals property editor, which
yields the following property string:

-r 661 ^/../framework/trunk/database database

I am using the following command (all on one line):

svn propset svn:externals "-r661 ^/../framework/trunk/database database" .

This yields the following error message:

svn: E205000: Syntax error in revision argument '661
^/../framework/trunk/database database'

I have also tried placing a space between "-r" and "661", even though
the output from "svn help propset" does not use a space in the example
(it uses "-r25"; see last line in below paragraph):

svn:externals - A newline separated list of module specifiers,
each of which consists of a URL and a relative directory path,
similar to the syntax of the 'svn checkout' command:
http://example.com/repos/zig foo/bar
A revision to check out can optionally be specified to pin the
external to a known revision:
-r25 http://example.com/repos/zig foo/bar

Adding the space yields the same error, but with a space before "661" in
the message:

svn: E205000: Syntax error in revision argument ' 661
^/../framework/trunk/database database'

The problem seems to be related to how Windows handles the minus sign in
the "-r661" portion of the string. If I escape the minus sign with a
backslash, the command succeeds, but of course, the backslash appears,
literally, in the svn:externals property value.

I've scoured the Web looking for examples of how this is done on the
Windows command line with SVN 1.7, and I can't find a single example.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

-Ben

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[Simon Large]

The answer is somewhat unexpected, at least to me:

http://subversion.tigris.org/ds/viewMessage.do?dsForumId=463&dsMessageId=2733969

The correct syntax it seems is:

svn propset svn:externals -- "-r661 ^/../framework/trunk/database database" .

And the reason seems to be this one:
http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/online/pages/man3/getopt.3.html

The extra -- prevents the following arguments starting with - from
being parsed as options.

Simon

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[Nick]

Right, the "-r" is being picked up as if it was a parameter to "svn
propset" as opposed to an attribute of the external. Have you
considered specifying the revision via a peg revision instead? This
uses a slightly different syntax but will likely yield the same results
for you:

svn propset svn:externals "^/../framework/trunk/database@661 database" .


Best regards,
Nick

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[Ben Johnson]

Brilliant! That works. Thank you, Simon!

This solution is unexpected to me, too. How Philip Martin knew that this
is "simply standard argument handling for just about any program" eludes
me. I hadn't run into this before.

One last question: I noticed that TSVN inserts a space between the "r"
and the revision number, e.g.:

-r 661 ^/../framework/trunk/database database

But the SVN help output omits the space in its example, e.g.:

-r661 ^/../framework/trunk/database database

Will both formats function identically? Or should one be used over the
other?

Thanks again,

-Ben

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[Simon Large]

> Brilliant! That works. Thank you, Simon!
>
> This solution is unexpected to me, too. How Philip Martin knew that this
> is "simply standard argument handling for just about any program" eludes
> me. I hadn't run into this before.

I think he means "just about any gcc program", i.e. a program which
uses getopt for command line processing. Windows programs don't count
as proper programs ;-)

> One last question: I noticed that TSVN inserts a space between the "r"
> and the revision number, e.g.:
>
> -r 661 ^/../framework/trunk/database database
>
> But the SVN help output omits the space in its example, e.g.:
>
> -r661 ^/../framework/trunk/database database
>
> Will both formats function identically? Or should one be used over the
> other?

They certainly both seem to work, although there is no reference to
the extra space in the user documentation. It may be documented in the
subversion API or it may be a bug in TSVN that happens to work.

Stefan

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