### Using Perforce from the command line

Using Perforce is very easy, and you can get help from the command line with:

p4 help

The most common commands you might need to use are as follows.

p4 sync - Sync up with the latest sources
p4 edit - Open a file for editing
p4 add - Add a new file to the repository
p4 delete - Delete a file from the repository
p4 resolve - Resolve conflicts if two people edit the same file
p4 revert - Revert changes for a currently opened file
p4 submit - Submit all changes to the repository
p4 opened - List call files you currently have opened

The big difference between Perforce and other SCM systems like RCS is that Perforce is 'change' oriented. When you submit a change list, included in the change list will be all of the files that you currently have opened. If you don't want a file in that change list, simply delete it from the change list in the editor and it won't be submitted but will remain in your list of open files after the submit. You must provide a description for the change, and then the entire set of files associated with the change is submitted as a single atomic change to the server, including file additions and deletions! Hence when you need to revert back to older versions of the code, you can do it via the revision number for a specific file, a change list number to go back to the state when a particular change was submitted, or a label defined earlier.

Note that anonymous users only have read access to the software repository, and will not be able to open any files or submit changes. If you wish to be able to contribute changes to the SciTech Perforce repository, please contact perforce@scitechsoft.com directly to find out how you can get a developer account with read/write access.

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