Re: [PATCH 2/3] git-svn: Add --add-author-from option.

[Dmitry Potapov <dpotapov@gmail.com>]

On Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 11:36:26AM -0700, Junio C Hamano wrote:
> 
> It makes me wonder if there is a better way.
> 
> For example, CVS honors LOGNAME to allow you to "lie" who the author of a
> change was, which is the behaviour inherited from RCS.  I have to wonder
> if SVN has a similar mechanism to tell it "Excuse me, but I am just a
> secretary recording changes for my boss."

Yes, there is such a mechanism:
====
Revision Property (revprop)

Just as files can have properties, so can each revision in the
repository. Some special revprops are added automatically when the
revision is created, namely: svn:date svn:author svn:log which represent
the commit date/time, the committer and the log message respectively.
These properties can be edited, but they are not versioned, so any
change is permanent and cannot be undone. 
====

So, it is possible not only set the real author but also date/time.
Unfortunately, there is one problem with this approach -- by default,
these properties are disabled from modification for security reasons.
To enable modification of these properties, the administrator is
required to change some hooks. Personally, I have never observed any
SVN repository where anyone was granted the right to change them. So,
while it is possible, it is impractical.


Dmitry