README_REPOSITORY

 
 
 Initial configuration
 ---------------------
 
-Always use Mercurial version 1.0 or later, such as 1.0.1 or 1.0.2.
+Always use Mercurial versions from the 1.0 or 1.1 branch, or later.
 The old 0.9.x versions do not work in a multi-user environment with
-shared file spaces.
+shared file spaces!
 
 
 The official Isabelle repository can be cloned like this:
 
   hg clone http://isabelle.in.tum.de/repos/isabelle

 username correctly makes the system invent funny machine names that
 may persist indefinitely in the public flow of changesets.
 
 In principle, user names can be chosen freely, but for longterm
 committers of the Isabelle repository the obvious choice is to keep
-with the old CVS naming scheme.
+with the old CVS naming scheme.  Others should use their regular "full
+name"; including an email address is optional.
 
 
 There are other useful configuration to go into $HOME/.hgrc,
 e.g. defaults for common commands:
 

 place, to get exactly to the same point:
 
   hg clone ssh://wenzelm@atbroy100//home/isabelle-repository/repos/isabelle
 
 
+Simplified merges
+-----------------
+
+The main idea of Mercurial is to let individual users produce
+independent branches of development first, but merge with others
+frequently.  The basic hg merge operation is more general than
+required for the mode of operation with a shared pull/push area.  The
+hg fetch extension accommodates this case nicely, automating trivial
+merges and requiring manual intervention for actual conflicts only.
+
+The fetch extension can be configured via the user's ~/.hgrc like
+this:
+
+  [extensions]
+  hgext.fetch =
+
+  [defaults]
+  fetch = -m "merged"
+
+Note that the potential for merge conflicts can be greatly reduced by
+doing "hg fetch" before any starting local changes!
+
+
 Content discipline
 ------------------
 
 Old-style centralized version control is occasionally compared to "a
 library where everybody scribbles into the books".  Or seen the other

     things have been done in a certain way at some point.
 
     Mercurial provides nice web presentation of incoming changes with
     a digest of log entries; this also includes RSS/Atom news feeds.
     Users should be aware that others will actually read what is
-    written into log messages.
+    written into log messages.  There are also add-on browsers,
+    notably hgtk that is part of the TortoiseHg distribution and works
+    for generic Python/GTk platforms.
 
     The usual changelog presentation style for the Isabelle repository
     admits log entries that consist of several lines, but without the
     special headline that is used in Mercurial projects elsewhere.
     Since some display styles strip newlines from text, it is

 arguments, the regular user instructions for building and running
 Isabelle from sources apply.
 
 Needless to say, the results from the build process must not be added
 to the repository!
-
-
-Makarius 30-Nov-2008