[p4] Trigger to restrict users to delete any file

[Ivey, William]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: perforce-user-bounces at perforce.com
> [mailto:perforce-user-bounces at perforce.com]On Behalf Of - C Saha -
> 
> Hi All 
>    
>   Perhaps you guys are right, I should not go for deleting 
> those files permanently. 
>    
>   But as an Administrator, I am always worried about the 
> space usage, and that means more backup time. When I found 
> that more than 36000 files were deleted, then can I not 
> assume that I am unnecessarily copying those 36000 files (out 
> of which, most are binary files).

Binary files can be an issue. There are a few things you could
do:

1. Identify those files you'd like to keep a history on but
	don't actually need anything but the most recent version
	of and set their type to store head-revision only (+S).
	(Most commonly used for files imported from other
	companies, vendors, etc.)

2. Obliterate selected revisions - this can be time consuming
	but could be worthwhile.

3. Remove the underlying files from the repository. If you
	search the list archives there are some suggestions about
	this approach. My favorite, although I haven't used it,
	was to replace the large binary with a small text file
	explaining why the binary isn't there, and, optionally,
	pointing to where it might be found in archival storage.

	If you're brave, you could automate that process,
	removing older versions but keeping the most recent three
	or four.

For anything that destructively touches the repository - deletes,
obliterates, etc. - I would only do it AFTER the repository is
backed up, of course.

-Wm