Version Control

[Netrunner]

I need to get something up and running.

I haven't used anything but VS, but I hear people saying that the DB get corrupted, so I am looking for something else.

I know of CVS and Subversion, but I am totally lost in getting them to work. I am coming from the Windows side of things, so my way things work are a bit skewed.

Could someone write a tutorial on setup and implementing CVS or Subversion for use newbies.

Or what do you use for Version Control in you development enviroment. I am in the US and I have 3 programmers abroad that need access to the Version Control software.

Any help would greatly appriciated.

thanks
netrunner

[sde]

i guess i'm pretty n00b ..

what is Version Control, .. what is VS, .. and are we missing a programming forum that this should be in?

[jeffro]

Would you be setting up a CVS server on Linux I am assuming? If so I could write a basic tutorial on how to set it up and get the server and clients running. Would this be worth anything to you?

Let me know!

[sde]

duh thanks =) i need things spelt out twice sometimes.

thanks for offering to make the tutorial. when you do, let us know so we can expedite the moderation/approval process.

[Netrunner]

<a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=version+control">Version Control</a>

In short, version control is used to keep what ever you are working on saved in a database, with history versions for you to roll back on if you need too. Also, it allow multiple people to work on a project without over writing someone elses code.

VS = <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/ssafe/">Visual SourceSafe</a>

Well, yeah I would like to a tutorial, but I would like to find out what others are using, for my purpose right now.. I am stuck on the windows platform, so for me, it would be more benificial to see CVS or Subversion on windows 2k.

What other VS do you use?

Also, it would be nice the have the client use a web browser to checkin/checkout and upload/download from.

I hope other newbies benifit from this.

PS. I also have a linux box here, so if I have to use linux, I can, just tell me the port numbers so I can mod my router and tell abroad developers how to hit it.

thanks
netrunner

[jeffro]

As for a web-based Version Control system the only one I know of is PVCS by Merant, but that isn't open-source and it costs a pretty penny from what I have heard.

One big thing that CVS doesn't do that some other Source Control systems do is file locking, so 2 developers can be working on the same file at the same time, which can cause problems. Essentially CVS just provides a central repository where everyone keeps their work that is associated with a project.

There isn't a web interface that I know of and everything is command-line driven. There are a few GUI-based CVS interfaces but I have never used them. (I type faster than I click!)

I am not quite sure why I felt compelled to share all that with you, but I guess its nice to know. I will probably work on that 'Beginning CVS Tutorial' this weekend, look for it early next week.

jeffro

[joe_bruin]

cvs can be used in windows, and there are several good visual front-ends for it (here's a good one), or you can use a commandline interface through cygwin. if you're using it only for yourself, setup should be pretty easy. if you want it on a central server, you'll have to set up a pserver or shell access which can be a pain. if you are using cvs, you should also install cvsweb, which is a very handy tool for browsing the sourcecode. as for locking in cvs, it is almost entirely unnecessary. cvs has great merging capabilities, so if two people are working on the same file, it can merge their differences together very well (having to do a manual merge is very rare). here's an example of cvsweb and cvs in general in an active codebase

for personal use, you may consider RCS (on which cvs is based), which is meant as a personal code repository. i doubt you'll find gui front-ends for it, though.

i've never tried subversion, but people seem to like it.

visual sourcesafe, on the otherhand, has some major issues with file corruption. since it uses windows filesharing (smb) to mount the repository, it is vulnerable to clients crashing or messing up and corrupting files (which happend alot because vss is not the most stable app). again, for one user it may be okay, but it does not scale well (past 5 or 6 developers, it is a bad idea...).

[jeffro]

I will admit also that setting up CVS users can be a little bit of a paint because you need either a pserver or individual shell accounts for each user. I have never personally user CVSweb but it looks like a great tool, I will definitely be checking into it more here soon!

jeffro