Snapshot, diffs and crap

[Ian Lance Taylor]

   From: espie@quatramaran.ens.fr (Marc Espie)
   Date: Wed, 28 Jan 1998 18:06:27 +0100

   As another related point, from what I've read, it seems that the current
   CVS installation uses patch 2.1.

   An upgrade to a more recent version of patch is vital.   This version does
   not work with patches at the end of file. Under some circumstances, if you 
   add something at the end of the file, build up the diff. then modify the 
   original file elsewhere, so that the line count will change, patch will 
   incorrectly apply the patch right smack where the end of the file used to be, 
   without even complaining about wrong context.
   I've been bitten by this one at least once.

As I've mentioned before, if you get a version of CVS later than
1.9.10 from download.cyclic.com, CVS will not use patch at all, in
which case it does not matter which version you have.

I encourage everybody to get a up to date CVS, since not only does it
not require patch, it sends less data for each change to a file (it
sends diff -n output rather than diff -c output).

Ian