[cvsnt] Mergepoints

[Andrš Petr (EXT)]

Hi all,

our development team is using CVSNT 2.0.34 (Open Source version) for versioning software we are developing. Until now we were able to work without using branches at all. Now we came to the point where we need them. After reading about branching and merging in "Open Source Development with CVS" book (and it look really scary) I want to explore possibility of using mergepoints in CVSNT but I miss some information:

1. Since what version of CVSNT mergepoints are considered completed, stable and fully functional feature? Is 2.0.34 sufficient or upgrade is necessary?

2. Is it implemented on client or server or both? Specifically is it necessary to use CVSNT client version at least equal to version of CVSNT server or is it possible to use other CVS clients (mainly those integrated in Java development environment like IntelliJ IDEA or BEA Weblogic Workshop 8.1) without degradation of functionality? If CVSNT client is required for merging, is usage of non CVSNT clients possible for users who will not perform merges (they will only implement changes and commit them) without any damage/loss of functionality of mergepoints and whole repository?

3. Here http://www.devguy.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=1334 I found some interesting article about mergepoints, but it says that merges can happen only in one direction when using mergepoints. Can please somebody clarify it? We are preparing release of our product but some circumstances delay us, so we want to start development of future features. My idea is to create branch for these future features, merge changes from trunk to branch regularly and after release happens merge branch to trunk. (And probably create branch from release for fixes.)

Thank you in advance

Petr