Next message: Boris Bokowski/OTT/OTI: "DAV:predecessor-set"
Message-ID: <3906C56A7BD1F54593344C05BD1374B10D9EB7@SUS-MA1IT01>
From: "Clemm, Geoff" <gclemm@rational.com>
To: ietf-dav-versioning@w3.org
Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 12:03:00 -0400
Subject: RE: Question about "opaque" collections
Yes, an "opaque" collection can be versioned as a whole,
by putting it under "baseline control" (as opposed to "version control").
So while "version control" of a collection tracks versions of just
that collection (i.e. it's internal members), "baseline control" of
a collection tracks versions of all members of the collection.
You can then use "SET-TARGET" and "MERGE" to bring back or merge previous
baselines of the collection into the current state of the collection.
Cheers,
Geoff
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Bumgarner [mailto:bbum@codefab.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2000 11:33 AM
To: ietf-dav-versioning@w3.org
Subject: Question about "opaque" collections
[I have been meaning to ask this for a while and hope that this is a repeat
of an issue already dealt with]
In this less than ideal computing environments that we work with, there is
the occasional need to revision control or configuration manage a collection
of resources that cannot be inventoried. That is, there are applications
that effectively use a directory [collection] as a single atomic document.
The contents of said directory/document/collection changes with each save in
a non-predictable fashion. As applications evolve, the documents they manage
are becoming more and more complex. As a natural result, collection of
resources acting as a single atomic document are becoming more and more
common. It is interesting to note that Apple's OSX supports collections as
documents as a first class and standard part of the desktop application
development APIs.
Revision control systems such as CVS-- ones that expect the inventory of a
directory to remain predictable across revisions-- have great dififculty
managing such resources. For cvs, a nasty hack was implemented a number of
years ago that effectively tarballs the collection and stores it as a
binary, non-mergeable, resource within the repository.
Because the collection is effectively closed in that the contents are
meaingless outside of the context of the collection, "opaque collection"
seems to be a reasonable way of naming such a thing.
Question:
Can the versioning features of DAV transparently and effeciently
store and control "opaque" collections?
I.e. can a collection of resources be treated as if it were a
single, versionable resource?
b.bum