Nupedia and CVS

If you really want to work with the nupedia code, the best way to get it and make changes to it is through CVS. There are several CVS clinets available under virtually any platform (Windows, Unix, Mac, ...). If you are familiar with CVS, then you need only know that anonymous, read-only access is available through.

CVSROOT=:pserver:anonymous@www.nupedia.com:/usr/local/cvsroot

There is no password for this read-only access. If you desire write access to the repository (or you already have write access to the repository), then you need to get a username/password (you can select any username/password you desire) from jasonr@bomis.com. Please include a quick note stating why you are interested in write access to the repository.

If you are unfamiliar with CVS, you have a number of options. I suggest getting familiar with it. There are tons of resources on the web, and O'Reilly puts out a fantastic pocket reference, "CVS Pocket Reference". Most CVS clients come with documentation as well. I highly recommend the "info" documentation available to the unix clients, available by typing "info cvs" from a unix command terminal (assuming CVS is installed, which it probably is). If you desire a graphical user interface (not my cup of tea, but...), then I direct you to http://www.cvsgui.org. They maintain a Windows, Mac and Linux/Unix/BSD? client with a pretty nice interface.

You should download and install WinCVS from The CVSgui website. After installation, you should open the program, and select Admin|Preferences. Change the "CVSROOT" appropriately. It should be one of:

anonymous@www.nupedia.com:/usr/local/cvsroot

or

username@www.nupedia.com:/usr/local/cvsroot

where username is the username you requested from jasonr@bomis.com. Pull down the "Authentication" selection box (also in Admin|preferences) and select "password file on the cvs server". If you will be using the repository for write access, you should also click the "Globals" tab, and de-select "checkout read-only". Close the Preferences dialog. Go to Admin|login. You will be prompted for a password. Press enter if you chose "anonymous" access, or enter your password for write access. You are now logged into the CVS server. You can now "Check out" modules. Select Create|"Check out modules". type "nupedia" for the module name. Select a directory to check out into (a directory named "nupedia" will be made in the location you choose). Select OK. You should now get a list of files passing by as they are checked out. You can browse through the directory and edit files using this interface. There is a row of red "filter buttons" that you can use to limit your view to files that meet certain criteria (modified, ready to check in, containing conflicts, etc.). There is also a button which will "commit selected". This updates the cvs repository with the changes that you made to the file that you have selected. You will be prompted for a "Log message" before the commit takes place. Please enter a detailed message, stating what kinds of changes you have made. If you desire to add a file to the repository, you must first add it to your local copy (the copy that you checked out to your hard drive), in the position that you want it added to the repository. Edit the file as you desire. You'll notice that the file appears in your cvs browing window as a "NonCVS" file. Select the file, then click the "add" button (the one with the "+" sign on it). This will mark the file in your local directory as "Ready to commit". You must then click the commit button as before, to finalize the transaction. Most of the other functions will not be available to you, as they control administrative tasks. You will be able to veiw diffs (files showing the changes that have occured through past revisions), which you could also access through WebCVS