The method Node.update(String srcWorkspace) works in the same way as it does in repositories without versioning: it replaces this node and its subtree with a clone of the its corresponding node and its subtree in srcWorkspace. Unlike most other methods that change the state of a node, update will work if the node in question is read-only due to a checked-in node. See also, 7.1.8 Updating and Cloning Nodes across Workspaces.