KEEP OTHERS FROM EDITING A FILE SIMULTANEOUSLY:

Use: cvs admin -l filename

This is how you lock a file in cvs. When you have locked the file, no one else can check it in. You MUST lock the file you intend to change. You also MUST unlock it once you have checked it back in. That way, when you go off on vacation after making your cvs mods, the rest of us won't say nasty things about you.

UNLOCK A FILE YOU HAVE LOCKED:

Use: cvs admin -u filename

Self-explanatory. If Mr. Pinhead has gone off on vacation without unlocking his files, it is possible to break the lock. I don't know how. Check the manual.

CHECK THE STATUS OF YOUR PRIVATE VERSION OF THE CODE:

Use: cvs status

Use this command from within the directory of interest. You want to use this command fairly often. It will tell you which of your files differs from the repository and whether you need to use cvs update (see below). The message "Needs Patch" tells you just that.

UPDATE YOUR VERSION OF THE CODE WITH RECENT CHANGES OTHERS HAVE CHECKED IN:

Use: cvs update

Use this command from within the directory of interest.

TO CHECK IN CHANGES:

Use: cvs commit -m "descriptive comment" filename

This is how you make your code changes official. Note that though you generally check out a module, you check back in a file. Using -m allows you to include adescriptive comment of your most recent changes on the command line. For longer comments, omit the -m and you can type in your comments using your favorite editor (set by the CVSEDITOR environment variable). Note that committing automatically unlocks the file.