[Python-Dev] I am now lost - committed, pulled, merged, what is "collapse"?

["Martin v. Löwis"]

> My understanding is that svn does not detect fast forwards, only lack
> of conflicts, and therefore in case of concurrent development it is
> possible that the repository contains a version that never existed in
> any developer's workspace.  

I can't understand how you draw this conclusion ("therefore").

If you do an svn up, it merges local changes with remote changes;
if that works without conflicts, it tells you what files it merged,
but lets you commit.

Still, in this case, the merge result did exist in the sandbox
of the developer performing the merge. Subversion never ever creates
versions in the repository that didn't before exist in some working
copy. The notion that it may have done a server-side merge or some
such is absurd.

> If it is true, by definition developers cannot test or review what
> hasn't existed in their workspace; that testing and review is
> therefore imposed on the project as a whole, and perhaps not done
> until more concurrent commits have been made.

You make it sound as if you have never used subversion.

Regards,
Martin