##### 16.9.2.4 Defining status

All VCS have the notion of “status” or “state” to describe the relationship between the local file and the repository. The XML node `status` is used to describe the status that are known to a custom VCS, and the icons associated to it:

           <status label="STATUS_LABEL" stock="STOCK_LABEL" />

Where:

‘`STATUS_LABEL`’
  is the name of the status, for example “Up to date” or “Needs update” in the context of CVS.
‘`STOCK_LABEL`’
  is the stock identifier of the icon associated to this status, that will be used, for example, in the VCS Explorer. See section Adding stock icons for more details on how to define stock icons.

Note that the order in which status are defined in the XML file is important: the first status to be displayed must correspond to the status “Up-to-date” or equivalent.