(cvs.info.gz) Binary why

 
 9.1 The issues with binary files
 ================================
 
 While the need to manage binary files may seem obvious if the files
 that you customarily work with are binary, putting them into version
 control does present some additional issues.
 
    One basic function of version control is to show the differences
 between two revisions.  For example, if someone else checked in a new
 version of a file, you may wish to look at what they changed and
 determine whether their changes are good.  For text files, CVS provides
 this functionality via the `cvs diff' command.  For binary files, it
 may be possible to extract the two revisions and then compare them with
 a tool external to CVS (for example, word processing software often has
 such a feature).  If there is no such tool, one must track changes via
 other mechanisms, such as urging people to write good log messages, and
 hoping that the changes they actually made were the changes that they
 intended to make.
 
    Another ability of a version control system is the ability to merge
 two revisions.  For CVS this happens in two contexts.  The first is
 when users make changes in separate working directories ( Multiple
 developers).  The second is when one merges explicitly with the
 `update -j' command ( Branching and merging).
 
    In the case of text files, CVS can merge changes made independently,
 and signal a conflict if the changes conflict.  With binary files, the
 best that CVS can do is present the two different copies of the file,
 and leave it to the user to resolve the conflict.  The user may choose
 one copy or the other, or may run an external merge tool which knows
 about that particular file format, if one exists.  Note that having the
 user merge relies primarily on the user to not accidentally omit some
 changes, and thus is potentially error prone.
 
    If this process is thought to be undesirable, the best choice may be
 to avoid merging.  To avoid the merges that result from separate
 working directories, see the discussion of reserved checkouts (file
 locking) in  Multiple developers.  To avoid the merges resulting
 from branches, restrict use of branches.
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