* notes/dump-load-format.txt
Clarifications about property persistence.
@@ -358,21 +358,15 @@ The revision properties do not persist to later revisions. Each revision
has exactly the revision properties specified in its revision record, or
no revision properties if there is no property section.
-The key thing to know about Node properties is that they are
-persistent, once set, until modified by a future property
-section on the same path. Property sections are also carried
-forward in copyfrom operations.
+Node properties, like node text, are persistent: once set, they are
+carried forward until modified by a future property section, both on the
+same path and on the target of a copyfrom operation.
-Normally, a dumpfile re-lists the entire property set for a directory
-or file in every Node record that changes any part of it. (But see
-the material on delta dumps for an exception.)
-
-This implies that to delete a given property from a path, a dumpfile
+In non-delta format, to delete a given property from a path, a dumpfile
generator will issue a Node record with all other properties listed in it;
to delete all properties from a path, the dumpfile generator will
-simply issue a node with an empty properties section. Note that this
-is different from an *absent* properties section, which will change
-no properties and will be associated with a change to content!
+issue a node with an empty properties section. (This is different from
+an *absent* properties section, which will change no properties.)
=== Representation of symbolic links ===
