rcs - change RCS file attributes
rcs creates new RCS files or changes attributes of existing ones. An RCS
  file contains multiple revisions of text, an access list, a change log,
  descriptive text, and some control attributes. For rcs to work, the
  caller's login name must be on the access list, except if the access list is
  empty, the caller is the owner of the file or the superuser, or the -i
  option is present.
Pathnames matching an RCS suffix denote RCS files; all others
    denote working files. Names are paired as explained in ci(1).
    Revision numbers use the syntax described in ci(1).
  - -i
- Create and initialize a new RCS file, but do not deposit any revision. If
      the RCS file has no path prefix, try to place it first into the
      subdirectory ./RCS, and then into the current directory. If the RCS
      file already exists, print an error message.
- -alogins
- Append the login names appearing in the comma-separated list logins
      to the access list of the RCS file.
- -Aoldfile
- Append the access list of oldfile to the access list of the RCS
      file.
- -e[logins]
- Erase the login names appearing in the comma-separated list logins
      from the access list of the RCS file. If logins is omitted, erase
      the entire access list.
- -b[rev]
- Set the default branch to rev. If rev is omitted, the
      default branch is reset to the (dynamically) highest branch on the
    trunk.
- -cstring
- Set the comment leader to string. An initial ci, or an
      rcs -i without -c, guesses the comment leader from
      the suffix of the working filename.
This option is obsolescent, since RCS normally uses the preceding
    $Log$ line's prefix when inserting log lines during checkout (see
    co(1)). However, older versions of RCS use the comment leader instead
    of the $Log$ line's prefix, so if you plan to access a file with both
    old and new versions of RCS, make sure its comment leader matches its
    $Log$ line prefix.
 
  - -ksubst
- Set the default keyword substitution to subst. The effect of
      keyword substitution is described in co(1). Giving an explicit
      -k option to co, rcsdiff, and rcsmerge
      overrides this default. Beware rcs -kv, because -kv
      is incompatible with co -l. Use rcs -kkv to
      restore the normal default keyword substitution.
- -l[rev]
- Lock the revision with number rev. If a branch is given, lock the
      latest revision on that branch. If rev is omitted, lock the latest
      revision on the default branch. Locking prevents overlapping changes. If
      someone else already holds the lock, the lock is broken as with
      rcs -u (see below).
- -u[rev]
- Unlock the revision with number rev. If a branch is given, unlock
      the latest revision on that branch. If rev is omitted, remove the
      latest lock held by the caller. Normally, only the locker of a revision
      can unlock it. Somebody else unlocking a revision breaks the lock. This
      causes a mail message to be sent to the original locker. The message
      contains a commentary solicited from the breaker. The commentary is
      terminated by end-of-file or by a line containing . by
      itself.
- -L
- Set locking to strict. Strict locking means that the owner of an
      RCS file is not exempt from locking for checkin. This option should be
      used for files that are shared.
- -U
- Set locking to non-strict. Non-strict locking means that the owner of a
      file need not lock a revision for checkin. This option should not
      be used for files that are shared. Whether default locking is strict is
      determined by your system administrator, but it is normally strict.
- -mrev:msg
- Replace revision rev's log message with msg.
- -M
- Do not send mail when breaking somebody else's lock. This option is not
      meant for casual use; it is meant for programs that warn users by other
      means, and invoke rcs -u only as a low-level lock-breaking
      operation.
- -nname[:[rev]]
- Associate the symbolic name name with the branch or revision
      rev. Delete the symbolic name if both : and rev are
      omitted; otherwise, print an error message if name is already
      associated with another number. If rev is symbolic, it is expanded
      before association. A rev consisting of a branch number followed by
      a . stands for the current latest revision in the branch. A
      : with an empty rev stands for the current latest revision
      on the default branch, normally the trunk. For example,
      rcs -nname: RCS/* associates
      name with the current latest revision of all the named RCS files;
      this contrasts with rcs -nname:$ RCS/*
      which associates name with the revision numbers extracted from
      keyword strings in the corresponding working files.
- -Nname[:[rev]]
- Act like -n, except override any previous assignment of
      name.
- -orange
- deletes (“outdates”) the revisions given by range. A
      range consisting of a single revision number means that revision. A range
      consisting of a branch number means the latest revision on that branch. A
      range of the form rev1:rev2 means revisions
      rev1 to rev2 on the same branch, :rev means
      from the beginning of the branch containing rev up to and including
      rev, and rev: means from revision rev to the
      end of the branch containing rev. None of the outdated revisions
      can have branches or locks.
- -q
- Run quietly; do not print diagnostics.
- -I
- Run interactively, even if the standard input is not a terminal.
- -sstate[:rev]
- Set the state attribute of the revision rev to state. If
      rev is a branch number, assume the latest revision on that branch.
      If rev is omitted, assume the latest revision on the default
      branch. Any identifier is acceptable for state. A useful set of
      states is Exp (for experimental), Stab (for stable), and
      Rel (for released). By default, ci(1) sets the state of a
      revision to Exp.
- -t[file]
- Write descriptive text from the contents of the named file into the
      RCS file, deleting the existing text. The file pathname cannot
      begin with -. If file is omitted, obtain the text from
      standard input, terminated by end-of-file or by a line containing
      . by itself. Prompt for the text if interaction is possible;
      see -I. With -i, descriptive text is obtained even if
      -t is not given.
- -t-string
- Write descriptive text from the string into the RCS file, deleting
      the existing text.
- -T
- Preserve the modification time on the RCS file unless a revision is
      removed. This option can suppress extensive recompilation caused by a
      make(1) dependency of some copy of the working file on the RCS
      file. Use this option with care; it can suppress recompilation even when
      it is needed, i.e. when a change to the RCS file would mean a change to
      keyword strings in the working file.
- -V
- Print RCS's version number.
- -Vn
- Emulate RCS version n. See co(1) for details.
- -xsuffixes
- Use suffixes to characterize RCS files. See ci(1) for
      details.
- -zzone
- Use zone as the default time zone. This option has no effect; it is
      present for compatibility with other RCS commands.
At least one explicit option must be given, to ensure
    compatibility with future planned extensions to the rcs command.
The -brev option generates an RCS file that cannot be parsed by
  RCS version 3 or earlier.
The -ksubst options (except -kkv) generate an
    RCS file that cannot be parsed by RCS version 4 or earlier.
Use rcs -Vn to make an RCS file acceptable to RCS
    version n by discarding information that would confuse version
    n.
RCS version 5.5 and earlier does not support the -x option,
    and requires a ,v suffix on an RCS pathname.
rcs accesses files much as ci(1) does, except that it uses the
  effective user for all accesses, it does not write the working file or its
  directory, and it does not even read the working file unless a revision number
  of $ is specified.
  - RCSINIT
- options prepended to the argument list, separated by spaces. See
      ci(1) for details.
The RCS pathname and the revisions outdated are written to the diagnostic
  output. The exit status is zero if and only if all operations were successful.
Author: Walter F. Tichy.
Manual Page Revision: ; Release Date: .
Copyright © 1982, 1988, 1989 Walter F. Tichy.
Copyright © 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 Paul Eggert.
rcsintro(1), co(1), ci(1), ident(1), rcsclean(1), rcsdiff(1), rcsmerge(1),
  rlog(1), rcsfile(5)
Walter F. Tichy, RCS—A System for Version Control,
  Software—Practice & Experience 15, 7 (July 1985),
  637-654.
A catastrophe (e.g. a system crash) can cause RCS to leave behind a semaphore
  file that causes later invocations of RCS to claim that the RCS file is in
  use. To fix this, remove the semaphore file. A semaphore file's name typically
  begins with , or ends with _.
The separator for revision ranges in the -o option used to
    be - instead of :, but this leads to confusion when symbolic
    names contain -. For backwards compatibility rcs -o still
    supports the old - separator, but it warns about this obsolete
  use.
Symbolic names need not refer to existing revisions or branches.
    For example, the -o option does not remove symbolic names for the
    outdated revisions; you must use -n to remove the names.