DELTA(1)                             SysV                             DELTA(1)



NAME
     delta - make a delta (change) to an SCCS file

SYNOPSIS
     delta [-rSID] [-s] [-n] [-glist] [-m[mrlist]] [-y[comment]] [-p] files

DESCRIPTION
     delta permanently introduces into the named SCCS file changes that were
     made to the file retrieved by get(1) (called the g-file, or generated
     file).

     delta makes a delta to each named SCCS file.  If a directory is named,
     delta behaves as though each file in the directory were specified as a
     named file, except that non-SCCS files (last component of the path name
     does not begin with s.)  and unreadable files are silently ignored.  If a
     name of - is given, the standard input is read (see WARNINGS); each line
     of the standard input is taken to be the name of an SCCS file to be
     processed.

     delta can issue prompts on the standard output depending on certain
     options and flags [see admin(1)] that may be present in the SCCS file
     (see -m and -y options below).

OPTIONS
     Option arguments apply independently to each named file.

     -rSID     Uniquely identifies which delta is to be made to the SCCS file.
               It is only necessary to use this option if two or more
               outstanding gets for editing (get -e) on the same SCCS file
               were done by the same person (login name).  The SID value
               specified with the -r option can be either the SID specified on
               the get command line or the SID to be made as reported by the
               get command [see get(1)].  A diagnostic results if the
               specified SID is ambiguous, or, if necessary and omitted on the
               command line.

     -s        Suppresses the issue, on the standard output, of the created
               delta's SID, as well as the number of lines inserted, deleted
               and unchanged in the SCCS file.

     -n        Specifies retention of the edited g-file (normally removed at
               completion of delta processing).

     -glist    Creates a list (see get(1) for the definition of list) of
               deltas which are to be ignored when the file is accessed at the
               change level (SID).

     -m[mrlist]
               If the SCCS file has the v flag set [see admin(1)] then a
               Modification Request (MR) number must be supplied as the reason
               for creating the new delta.

               If -m is not used and the standard input is a terminal, the
               prompt MRs? is issued on the standard output before the
               standard input is read; if the standard input is not a
               terminal, no prompt is issued.  The MRs? prompt always precedes
               the comments? prompt (see -y option).

               MRs in a list are separated by blanks and/or tab characters.
               An unescaped new-line character terminates the MR list.

               Note that if the v flag has a value [see admin(1)], it is taken
               to be the name of a program (or shell procedure) which will
               validate the correctness of the MR numbers.  If a non-zero exit
               status is returned from the MR number validation program, delta
               terminates.  (It is assumed that the MR numbers were not all
               valid.)

     -y[comment]
               Arbitrary text used to describe the reason for making the
               delta.  A null string is considered a valid comment.

               If -y is not specified and the standard input is a terminal,
               the prompt comments? is issued on the standard output before
               the standard input is read; if the standard input is not a
               terminal, no prompt is issued.  An unescaped new-line character
               terminates the comment text.

     -p        Causes delta to print (on the standard output) the SCCS file
               differences before and after the delta is applied in a diff(1)
               format.

BUGS
     Lines beginning with an SOH ASCII character (binary 001) cannot be placed
     in the SCCS file unless the SOH is escaped.  This character has special
     meaning to SCCS [see sccsfile(4) (5)] and will cause an error.

     Avoid using a get of many SCCS files, followed by a delta of those files,
     when the get generates a large amount of data.  Instead, use multiple
     get/delta sequences.

     If the standard input (-) is specified on the delta command line, -m (if
     necessary) and -y must also be present.  Omission of these options causes
     an error.

     Comments are limited to text strings of at most 512 characters.

FILES
     g-file           Existed before the execution of delta; removed after
                      completion of delta.
     p-file           Existed before the execution of delta; may exist after
                      completion of delta.
     q-file           Created during the execution of delta; removed after
                      completion of delta.
     x-file           Created during the execution of delta; renamed to SCCS
                      file after completion of delta.
     z-file           Created during the execution of delta; removed during
                      execution of delta.
     d-file           Created during the execution of delta; removed after
                      completion of delta.
     /usr/bin/bdiff   Program to compute differences between the "gotten" file
                      and the g-file.

DIAGNOSTICS
     Use help(1) for explanations.

SEE ALSO
     admin(1), cdc(1), get(1), prs(1), rmdel(1), sccs(1), sccsfile(4).
     bdiff(1), help(1) in Using Your SysV Environment.