Blogging Ottinger (tim)SVN oddity
Subversion is a very nice version control system normally, but I found a funny thing today. I was in /data partition. See, I pretty much always am running in XUbuntu linux, but the machine is dual-boot and sometimes I am forced by circumstances to run Windows (ick.. ack.. ptui) on rare occasions. On my machine there is a linux partition (actually a boot partition, a home partition, a root partition, and a swap space) and there is a windows partition (only one) and there is this no-mans land that I mount in linux as /data. It is a FAT32 (VFAT) file system so that I can access it from either side. It holds the files that can be used form either side.
Here’s the problem:
$ svn co https://svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/fitnessedotnet/trunk ./something
svn: Can’t set file ‘fitnessedotnet/.svn/entries’ read-only: Operation not permitted
$
It turns out to happen all the time when I’m in the fat32 space. In the EXT3 partitions it is just fine. I don’t know why, but I don’t like it. I really want it to work there as well.
sigh.
FAT32 doesn’t support permissions, as you’ve found out. There are some linux file system drivers for Windows. I don’t know how well they work since I’ve never used them. If it were me, I’d do everything I needed to access from Windows and Linux from a network accessible drive and then mount that drive via NFS or CIFS/SMB depending on which OS I was using.
—-
Oh! THAT is the problem! I didn’t know why it couldn’t change permissions! That’s a very useful thing to know. Thank you. — Tim
Comment by schultmc — 2006-October-26 @ 01:31
http://kennethhunt.com/archives/001314.html lists some EXT2/EXT3 drivers for Windows.
Comment by schultmc — 2006-October-26 @ 01:33
I can’t figure out how I’d make the network thing work.
I’m generally on the road (not at an office like people with real jobs). “the network” depends on which city/state/country I’m in at a given time. The files I want to access are on the dual-boot laptop.
Worse, when I’m at a place that’s so backward as to require Windows, they often are so backward as to not allow me to put my computer on their network (and no wireless either). The idea was to be able to access my files read/write regardless of which OS I booted, and to be able to access them from the cab/limo/plane/boat/airport/oxcart/church/cabin/hotel.
Where would the network accessible drive be?
I will look at the ext3 drivers. Maybe they will let me edit files from windows without corrupting the file system.
Maybe I should learn to use wine or Win4Lin?
Comment by Tim — 2006-October-26 @ 06:39
Tim,
How did you experiements with the EXT3 drivers turned out? I’m in a situation very similar to the one you described.
Cheers
Comment by Francis — 2007-April-17 @ 04:54
I didn’t. I am windows-free again, and happy about it. I finished at the other customer, and am on a new assignment. I lost my need. Please let me know what happens on your side.
Comment by Tim — 2007-April-19 @ 08:02