Version substitution

[JeremyFitzhardingejeremy at softway.com.au]

On 06-Feb-98 Jeff Bowles wrote:
> Jeremy Fitzhardinge <jeremy at softway.com.au> writes:
> "I'd like to have a ktext file in which Perforce leaves details like the
> time, date and change number of its last change.  I'd like to use this to
> get a file which can be built into programs and record what went into the
> build.  ktext is only documented as substituting $Id:$, which only gives
> the depot name and version for that file (not even the change number)."
> 
>       Actually, I would like this too - there are a number of
>       $Id$ substitutions that RCS does, and the richest is
>       $History$ (expands to include the submission text, date,
>       and so on.)
> 
>       If P4 is parsing the file looking for $Id$, it should be
>       able to recognize a few other keywords....

A wider selection would be nice, though they needn't follow RCS's lead. 

One of the problems of keyword substitution under Perforce is that it
breaks the lazy copying of branches, since the act of branching changes the
file.  Unfortunately "$Id:$" is about the least suitable to expand, since
you need it in every file to be useful.  A keyword which expands to
something which expresses the overall state of the work area in which the
build was done in would be fine.

        J