[darcs #91] wish: create backup files when conflicts are found

Wed Nov 17 11:13:03 2004: New ticket: 91.
Transaction: Ticket created by markjugg
       Queue: Darcs
     Subject: wish: create backup files when conflicts are found
       Owner: Nobody
  Requestors: mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
      Status: new
 Ticket <URL: http://bugs.darcs.net/.//Ticket/Display.html?id=91 >

> On 2004-10-11, Mark Stosberg <mark at summersault.com> wrote:
> >
> > I like CVS' simple solution [to help recover from conflicts]. From
the CVS docs:
> >
> > "CVS tells you that there were some conflicts. Your original working
file is
> > saved unmodified in `.#driver.c.1.4'."
> 
> Do others have interest in seeing something like this added to the darcs
> conflict resolution system? 
> 
> I think I would appreciate this additional recovery options (and I would
> imagine others migrating from CVS would appreciate it as well). 

I ran into another case today where this feature seemed useful.

I just did a 'pull' on the 'darcs-unstable' repo. I got the message:

    You have conflicting local changes to:
    ./ReportBug.lhs

I thought "Oh, I'll look at what those are.". 

But the file had been removed (I understand the feature was removed).

If there really were local changes that had been made to file, this
seems like
a data-loss case. 

Adding (at least optional) backup files when conflicts happen seems like
an easy safety measure, and a helpful additional conflict resolution tool.

Instead of appending a revision to the file name like CVS does, darcs
could just use a  
string generated from the date. With a granularity down to a second, 
that should allow you to have several backups of the same file.

    Mark