You can create, modify, and delete changelists using the svn changelist command. More accurately, you use this command to set or unset the changelist association of a particular working copy file. A changelist is effectively created the first time you label a file with that changelist; it is deleted when you remove that label from the last file that had it. Let's examine a usage scenario that demonstrates these concepts.

Harry is fixing some bugs in the calculator application's mathematics logic. His work leads him to change a couple of files:

$ svn status
M      integer.c
M      mathops.c
$

While testing his bug fix, Harry notices that his changes bring to light a tangentially related bug in the user interface logic found in button.c. Harry decides that he'll go ahead and fix that bug, too, as a separate commit from his math fixes. Now, in a small working copy with only a handful of files and few logical changes, Harry can probably keep his two logical change groupings mentally organized without any problem. But today he's going to use Subversion's changelists feature as a special favor to the authors of this book.

Harry first creates a changelist and associates with it the two files he's already changed. He does this by using the svn changelist command to assign the same arbitrary changelist name to those files:

$ svn changelist math-fixes integer.c mathops.c
Path 'integer.c' is now a member of changelist 'math-fixes'.
Path 'mathops.c' is now a member of changelist 'math-fixes'.
$ svn status

--- Changelist 'math-fixes':
M      integer.c
M      mathops.c
$

As you can see, the output of svn status reflects this new grouping.

Harry now sets off to fix the secondary UI problem. Since he knows which file he'll be changing, he assigns that path to a changelist, too. Unfortunately, Harry careless assigns this third file to the same changelist as the previous two files:

$ svn changelist math-fix button.c
Path 'button.c' is now a member of changelist 'math-fixes'.
$ svn status

--- Changelist 'math-fixes':
       button.c
M      integer.c
M      mathops.c
$

Fortunately, Harry catches his mistake. At this point, he has two options. He can remove the changelist association from button.c, and then assign a different changelist name:

$ svn changelist --remove button.c
Path 'button.c' is no longer a member of a changelist.
$ svn changelist ui-fix button.c
Path 'button.c' is now a member of changelist 'ui-fix'.
$

Or, he can skip the removal and just assign a new changelist name. In this case, Subversion will first warn Harry that button.c is being removed from the first changelist:

$ svn changelist ui-fix button.c
svn: warning: Removing 'button.c' from changelist 'math-fixes'.
Path 'button.c' is now a member of changelist 'ui-fix'.
$ svn status

--- Changelist 'ui-fix':
       button.c

--- Changelist 'math-fixes':
M      integer.c
M      mathops.c
$

Harry now has two distinct changelists present in his working copy, and svn status will group its output according to these changelist determinations. Notice that even though Harry hasn't yet modified button.c, it still shows up in the output of svn status as interesting because it has a changelist assignment. Changelists can be added to and removed from files at any time, regardless of whether they contain local modifications.

Harry now fixes the user interface problem in button.c.

$ svn status

--- Changelist 'ui-fix':
M      button.c

--- Changelist 'math-fixes':
M      integer.c
M      mathops.c
$