SVN: exclude some files out of version control (using svn:ignore)

Sometimes, you don’t want SVN to include all you files in the source code directory because they may be temporary files generated by developers or tools (vimcreates .swp file when a file is opened in vim).
SVN book: http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.5/svn.advanced.props.special.ignore.html

Two ways

o   Global change: it is applied to all svn operations performed using the runtime configuration. In other words, it changes the configuration of svn application (not a specific directory/file under control of svn)

o   Bind configuration to a specific version tree using svn:ignore property.

o   The ignore pattern checking is applied only during adding of unversioned directories/files to svn control.
“Once an object is under Subversion's control, the ignore pattern mechanisms no longer apply to it. In other words, don't expect Subversion to avoid committing changes you've made to a versioned file”

o   Its value contains a list of NEWLINE-delimited file pattern

o   They don’t override global global-ignores configuration, but append to the list

o   “the patterns found in the svn:ignore  property apply only to the directory on which that property is set, and not to any of its subdirectories.”
Use switch –R if you want to apply it recursively.

o   Usage
svn propset svn:ignore -F file-contains-ignore-patterns path-ignore-to-be-applied
Examples:
    svn propset svn:ignore -F .svn-ignore .
    #recursive. If you change the direcotry tree after this command is run,
    #you need to return following command to make the newly created directories/files controlled also by ignore pattern.
    svn -R propset svn:ignore -F .svn-ignore .   
    # edit a property
    svn propedit svn:ignore .     #edit the ignore patterns using the preconfigured editor.
Note:
  *)  If you use a file to specify ignore patterns, you must rerun the command
              "svn propset svn:ignore -F your-patter-file ."
    to make svn reread the file after the pattern file is changed.
  *)  One alternative is to use
              "svn propedit svn:ignore ."
       to edit the property configuration. Then the change you made immediately takes effect. However, the new property value will not be written back to the original pattern file. You can use command
    "svn propget svn:ignore . >  pattern-file"
to export the new value to your pattern file.

o   File Pattern
*: match any sequence of characters
?: match single character
[char-set]: match the specified char set.

o   Command “svn add”
When you use wildcards, you should be careful because it may make svn bypass the ignores check.
See http://svnbook.red-bean.com/trac/ticket/115.
Basically, “svn add *” bypasses the ignores system. However, it has been fixed. So if you are using a latest svn version, it should not be a problem.
Anyway, use “svn add --force .” when you can (it makes svn check the whole specified directory tree).

o   Command “svn status” won’t list ignored directories/files.
Use “svn status --no-ignore” to list status of all files including ignored ones.