Deploying VCS-controlled files to home directory

[Ben Finney]

Howdy all,

I'm just starting the journey of a home directory in VCS.

Like many others, I intend to keep configuration files ("dot files")
separated into common, roaming configuration, and local, site-specific
configuration, to be combined together on each machine.

For me, this begins with a directory tree to store these "roaming
profile" configuration files, named '$HOME/.roam/'.

    $HOME/.roam/
        .screen/
            screenrc

Then, each machine is configured with a symlink to that common
"roaming" configuration.

    $HOME/
        .screenrc       # has a directive to include '.screen/screenrc'
        .screen/
            screenrc -> ../.roam/.screen/screenrc
            screenrc-local


My question is: What strategy would you advise to automate deployment
of this to a new machine, and to deploy updates on existing machines
when it changes in the VCS?

-- 
 \         “The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure |
  `\         and the intelligent are full of doubt.” —Bertrand Russell |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney