I understand that this question has, in essence, already been asked, but that question did not have an unequivocal answer, so please bear with me.
Background: In my company, we use Perforce submission numbers as part of our versioning. Regardless of whether this is a correct method or not, that is how things are. Currently, many developers do separate submissions for code and documentation: first the code and then the documentation to update the client-facing docs with what the new version numbers should be. I would like to streamline this process.
My thoughts are as follows: create a Perforce trigger (which runs on the server side) which scans the submitted documentation files (such as .txt
) for a unique term (such as #####PERFORCE##CHANGELIST##NUMBER###ROFL###LOL###WHATEVER#####
) and then replaces it with the value of what the change list would be when submitted. I already know how to determine this value. What I cannot figure out, is how or where to update the files.
I have already determined that using the change-content
trigger (whether possible or not), which
"fire[s] after changelist creation and file transfer, but prior to committing the submit to the database",
is the way to go. At this point the files need to exist somewhere on the server. How do I determine the (temporary?) location of these files from within, say, a Python script so that I can update or sed
to replace the placeholder value with the intended value? The online documentation for Perforce which I have found so far have not been very explicit on whether this is possible or how the mechanics of a submission at this stage would work.
EDIT
Basically what I am looking for is RCS-like functionality, but without the unsightly special character sequences which accompany it. After more digging, what I am asking is the same as this question. However I believe that this must be possible, because the trigger is running on the server side and the files had already been transferred to the server. They must therefore be accessible by the script.
EXAMPLE
Consider the following snippet from a release notes document:
[#####PERFORCE##CHANGELIST##NUMBER###ROFL###LOL###WHATEVER#####] Added a cool new feature. Early retirement is in sight.
[52702] Fixed a really annoying bug. Many lives saved.
[52686] Fixed an annoying bug.
This is what the user submits. I then want the trigger to intercept this file during the submission process (as mentioned, at the change-content
stage) and alter it so that what is eventually stored within Perforce looks like this:
[52738] Added a cool new feature. Early retirement is in sight.
[52702] Fixed a really annoying bug. Many lives saved.
[52686] Fixed an annoying bug.
Where 52738 is the final change list number of what the user submitted. (As mentioned, I can already determine this number, so please do dwell on this point.) I.e., what the user sees on the Perforce client console is.
Changelist 52733 renamed 52738.
Submitted change 52738.