What does cleaning TortoiseSVN really do?

Question

What does cleaning TortoiseSVN really do?

I did not find the template, but often I am asked to do a "cleanup" when trying to execute the code.

If TortoiseSVN knows when it is dirty, why doesn’t it start cleaning itself?

Answer 1

Edit: I think it is not automatic, as it should interrupt operations and unlock a working copy in / path.

Demoman Book:

Recursively clean up your working copy, remove locks, and resume unfinished operations. If you ever copy a lock error, run this command to remove the obsolete locks and the working copy again. "Note that in this context, lock refers to a local file system lock, not a storage lock.

This is basically a way to try to repair any errors that occur with SVN.

Cleaning documentation:

http://tortoisesvn.net/docs/release/TortoiseSVN_en/tsvn-dug-cleanup.html

“If the Subversion command cannot quite successfully, possibly due to a server problem, your working copy may remain in an inconsistent state. In this case, you need to use TortoiseSVN → Cleanup in the folder. It's a good idea to make this a top-level working copy .

Cleaning has another good side effect. If the file date changes, but there is no content, Subversion cannot tell if it really has changed except that the byte byte is compared with a pristine copy. If you have many files in this state, it acquires the status very slowly, which will lead to the fact that many dialogs will respond. Performing a cleanup on your working copy will restore these “broken” timestamps and check the recovery status at full speed. "

Answer 2

It puts in sticky tape over bugs and dumb architecture in SVN that allow corrupted working copy.

It is not automatic for mute architecture and because it accepts FOREVER. Of course, when SVN gained popularity, its architecture was far ahead of CVS .

Answer 3

He is looking for inconsistencies. From the docs :

If the Subversion command cannot quite successfully, possibly due to a server problem, your working copy may remain in an inconsistent state. In this case you need to use TortoiseSVN -> Cleanup in folder. It is a good idea to make this a top notch working copy.

Cleaning has another good side effect. If the file date changes, but there is no content, Subversion cannot tell if it really has changed except that the byte byte is compared with a pristine copy. If you have many files in this state, it acquires the status very slowly, which will lead to the fact that many dialogs will respond. Performing a cleanup on your working copy will restore these “broken” timestamps and check the recovery status at full speed.

Answer 4

See What's New in TortoiseSVN 1.2 in the “New External Status Cache” section (in the “New Features” section).