You're using the Linux command line interface, you get distracted, and you type in ci. Oops - before you know it, you've lost your file ... at least it has disappeared from where you expected it to be:

[root@holt conf]# ci server.xml
server.xml,v <-- server.xml
enter description, terminated with single '.' or end of file:
NOTE: This is NOT the log message!
>>
initial revision: 1.1
done
[root@holt conf]#

What's happened IS recoverable. You have "Checked In" your file to the source code control system (have you come across SCCS and RCS?), and there's now a version controlled system with ,v on the end of the filename that has replaced your original.

To recover a copy of the original, you can "Check Out" your file with the co command:

[root@holt conf]# co server.xml
server.xml,v --> server.xml
revision 1.1
done
[root@holt conf]#

You may need to check the permissions on the file, and if you have specific line formats that are taken as revision control headers, they may have been updated but ... you have not lost your file!

RCS, SCCS, SubVersion, CVS and others are all revision control systems which allow you to keep numerous versions of a file, and to go back to old versions too. Checking out a file for edit allows it to be locked so that in a multi-developer environment, you have a mechanism available that avoid two people editing the same file at the same time ... with the edits of one being over-ridden by the other.
(written 2009-10-27, updated 2009-10-30)

 A101 - Web Application Deployment - Linux -An Introduction For Users
  [73] vi - full circle - (2004-10-04)
  [74] pushd and popd - (2004-10-05)
  [152] Aladdin, or careful what you wish. - (2004-12-15)
  [249] An easy way out - (2005-03-17)
  [430] Linux commands - some basics - (2005-08-31)
  [431] File permissions of Linux and Unix systems - (2005-08-31)
  [593] Finding where the disc space has gone - (2006-02-06)
  [659] Web Application Components - (2006-03-28)
  [679] More or less on the edge of the page - (2006-04-11)
  [703] Copying files and preserving ownership - (2006-04-28)
  [710] Linux training Glasgow, Python programming course Dundee - (2006-05-05)
  [711] THE home directory or MY home directory - (2006-05-06)
  [749] Cottage industry or production line data handling methods - (2006-06-07)
  [984] Cardinal numbers and magic numbers - (2006-12-14)
  [1012] Moving files between Windows / DOS and Linux / Unix - (2006-12-30)
  [1013] Copy multiple files - confusing error message from cp - (2006-12-30)
  [1068] ls -l report, Linux / Unix - types and permssions - (2007-02-06)
  [1259] Where am I and how did I get here? - (2007-07-05)
  [1287] Work and play at Well House Manor - Football and Shell Shortcuts - (2007-08-02)
  [1288] Linux run states, shell special commands, and directory structures - (2007-08-03)
  [1366] awk - a powerful data extraction and manipulation tool - (2007-09-25)
  [1408] Wireless hotel tips - FTP and Skype connections failing - (2007-10-26)
  [1438] Copy and paste / cut and paste and other vi techniques - (2007-11-20)
  [1527] Selecting file names in a shell - one word or another - (2008-02-02)
  [1651] ls command - favourite options - (2008-05-23)
  [1764] Yank and Push - copy and move in vi - (2008-08-21)
  [1803] FTP passive mode - a sometimes cure for upload hangs - (2008-09-20)
  [1893] Some Linux and Unix tips - (2008-11-18)
  [1897] Keeping on an even keel - (2008-11-21)
  [1902] sstrwxrwxrwx - Unix and Linux file permissions - (2008-11-23)
  [1904] Ruby, Perl, Linux, MySQL - some training notes - (2008-11-23)
  [2201] Running straight from the jar, but not from a tar - (2009-05-26)
  [2203] Always use su with minus. And where do programs come from? - (2009-05-27)
  [2299] How much space does my directory take - Linux - (2009-07-20)
  [2300] What does x on a linux directory mean? - (2009-07-21)
  [2494] Making Linux Politically correct - (2009-11-06)
  [2636] Linux - useful tips including history and file name completion - (2010-02-15)
  [2831] Recording (a macro) in vi - (2010-06-27)
  [3179] Oops - I typed ci not vi, and have lost my file ... - (2011-02-21)
  [3256] Displaying a directory or file system tree - Linux - (2011-04-22)
  [3791] The Kernel, Shells and Daemons. Greek Gods in computing - (2012-07-01)
  [3819] Packing a tar, jar or war file - best practise - (2012-07-26)

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