SGML and version control

[Joyce Flaherty <flahertj -at- SMTPGW -dot- LIEBERT -dot- COM>]

Text item: Text_1

Question for Chet or any other SGML guru listening in:

What are we talking about in the SGML environment when
we say that we must "preserve the recipe for version control?"

I've worked with version control (vc) in the UNIX environment.
This is conditional text.  If a block of text satisfies a
content argument, retrieve it.  We manipulated the text so that
we could retrieve specific topics, and in a specific format by
combining vc with the .so (source of input) command and a set
of home-grown imp macros.

When we sufficiently bastardized the vc source file (doc in this
case), we put the file under UNIX SCCS.  This is another type
of version control.  The first iteration default is V1.1.  The
first change to V1.1 is V1.1.1.1.  If a major change comes
along (rewrite), this is V2.1, and so forth.  Depending on
whether or not subsequent changes are backward compatible,
you can update V1.1.1.1 to V1.1.1.2, or V2.1 to V2.1.1.1, and
so forth, ad nauseam.  Any version, and any release can be
retrieved for reference, or change, at any time, but you
manage ONE SINGLE SOURCE FILE.

I believe the SGML environment does both for us.  Chet, your
name keeps popping into my head.  Will you be so kind to
clarify this version control thing?

joyce flaherty
flahertj -at- smtpgw -dot- liebert -dot- com