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13.2.3 Performing Peer Reviews 244
13.3 Tying Revisions to Issue Tracking 246
13.3.1 Issue-tracking Properties 246
13.3.2 Automating Interaction with Issue Tracking 247
13.4 Summary 249
Chapter 14 Case Studies in Development Processes 251
14.1 Archetypal Studies 251
14.1.1 Managed Chaos 251
14.1.2 Rapid Development 254
14.1.3 Central Planning 256
14.1.4 Small Teams 258
14.2 Real-world Studies 260
14.2.1 KeyGhost Ltd. 260
14.2.2 Error Free Software 261
14.2.3 Teledata Communications 263
14.2.4 GladeSoft 265
14.2.5 ExCo 266
14.2.6 Wye Corp 268
14.2.7 ZedCom 270
Part V Reference
271
Chapter 15 Command Reference 273
15.1 svn 273
15.1.1 svn add 275
15.1.2 svn blame praise, annotate, ann 276
15.1.3 svn cat 277
15.1.4 svn checkout co 278
15.1.5 svn cleanup 279
15.1.6 svn commit ci 279
15.1.7 svn copy cp 281
15.1.8 svn delete del, remove, rm 282
15.1.9 svn diff di 284
15.1.10 svn export 286
15.1.11 svn help ?, h 287
15.1.12 svn import 287
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15.1.13 svn info 289
15.1.14 svn list ls 289
15.1.15 svn log 291
15.1.16 svn merge 292
15.1.17 svn mkdir 294
15.1.18 svn move mv, rename, ren 295
15.1.19 svn propdel pdel, pd 297
15.1.20 svn propedit pedit, pe 298
15.1.21 svn propget pget, pg 299
15.1.22 svn proplist plist, pl 301
15.1.23 svn propset pset, ps 302
15.1.24 svn resolved 303
15.1.25 svn revert 304
15.1.26 svn status stat, st 305
15.1.27 svn switch sw 306
15.1.28 svn update up 307
15.2 svnadmin 308
15.2.1 svnadmin create 309
15.2.2 svnadmin dump 310
15.2.3 svnadmin help ?, h 310
15.2.4 svnadmin hotcopy 310
15.2.5 svnadmin list-dblogs 311
15.2.6 svnadmin list-unused-dblogs 311
15.2.7 svnadmin load 311
15.2.8 svnadmin lstxns 312
15.2.9 svnadmin recover 312
15.2.10 svnadmin rmtxns 313
15.2.11 svnadmin setlog 313
15.2.12 svnadmin verify 313
15.3 svnlook 314
15.3.1 svnlook author 314
15.3.2 svnlook cat 315
15.3.3 svnlook changed 315
15.3.4 svnlook date 316
15.3.5 svnlook diff 316
15.3.6 svnlook dirs-changed 317
15.3.7 svnlook help ?, h 317
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15.3.8 svnlook history 317
15.3.9 svnlook info 318
15.3.10 svnlook log 318
15.3.11 svnlook propget pget, pg 318
15.3.12 svnlook proplist plist, pl 319
15.3.13 svnlook tree 319
15.3.14 svnlook uuid 320
15.3.15 svnlook youngest 320
15.4 svnversion 320
15.5 svndumpfilter 321
15.5.1 svndumpfilter exclude 322
15.5.2 svndumpfilter include 322
15.5.3 svndumpfilter help ?, h 323
Index 325
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Preface
I was first introduced to version control and CVS in college, about the same time I was introduced to Linux. At that time though, most of the projects I worked on were small
and generally involved only a couple of developers. So, although version control would have been useful, I never took the time to really use it; my knowledge of CVS remained
limited to what little I needed to know to check out the occasional bleeding-edge project on Linux which seemed necessary a little more often in those days. As my college career
progressed, the projects I worked on became more involved, and I began to learn about “software engineering.” The instruction I received on software engineering never really
covered version control in any depth though, and despite the increased size of the software projects I was working on, I never delved into using a version control system to keep
track of things. I wanted to; I thought CVS was a neat idea. I just never invested the time necessary to learn how to set it up and use it. Then came my first major team project.
It was a real-world project, with real-world clients, and its completion was required for graduation. Finally, I had an excuse to really give version control a try. I presented the case
for CVS to my teammates and although there was some small resistance convinced them that we needed to use it. It was a success. By the end of the project, I was fully sold on the
necessity of version control in any future projects, however big or small. I loved CVS.
After school came the real world, and the love affair with CVS didn’t last long. As I learned mostly through trial and error how version control systems should be used, CVS
steadily became more and more inadequate. I could see its potential, but it didn’t measure up. Code was lost, fits were thrown, and hair was pulled. Still, CVS was the best free, open
source version control system out there, and as an entrepreneur trying to keep a start-up company going, free was a required feature. Then someone told me about a new version
control project called Subversion, so I went to its site and took a look. It seemed intriguing, but it wasn’t quite up to the point where I could trust it for my code—and I barely had time
to eat back then, so getting involved in the project’s development was out of the question. Instead, Subversion went on my back burner and I moved on to other things.
Several months down the road, I saw that Subversion had become self-hosting. “Well,” I thought, “If they trust it with their own code, maybe it’s time to take another look.”
Rolling up my sleeves, I sat down to play around with it. Once again, I had fallen in love. Subversion was everything CVS could have been. It was stable, it was flexible, and
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it didn’t eat my code. Thus, after a suitable period of testing, CVS was unceremoniously chucked and replaced by Subversion. I’ve never regretted the change. In fact, the only
thing regrettable is the hours of my life wasted fighting with CVS.
Writing the Book
When I was first approached about writing a book on Subversion, my first thought was, “Why?” There’s already an excellent Subversion manual, written by several of the principle
Subversion authors who presumably know more about Subversion’s inner workings than I do, and it’s freely available at that. So, I almost turned down the opportunity to write this
book because I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to read it. What could I possibly add that wasn’t already written? Then I got to thinking back to my college days, when I
learned version control through trial and error mostly error. I had the manual to CVS, but it covered how to use CVS, not how to use version control. It was a good manual, it
just wasn’t complete. The Subversion manual is similar; although it is far, far better than the documentation available for CVS, it’s still primarily a technical manual. As a technical
manual, it is excellent. As a guide to realizing Subversion’s full potential in relation to your software development project, it isn’t complete. Therefore, I’ve written this book to be the
guide I never had when I was learning how to use version control.
Of course, this book aims to cover the nuts and bolts of Subversion as completely as possible—you can’t very well use Subversion to develop software if you can’t use
Subversion—but it does so in the context of how to do the things you want to do in day- to-day software development. The book also goes a step further: It explains how to expand
on the built-in capabilities of Subversion to make the system work for you. In some places, that takes the form of example scripts or configurations. In others, it is merely ideas that
you can expand to fit your software development process. This is not a book to sell a pro- cess. I do make suggestions here and there of what I think will work in certain situations,
but you don’t need to buy into my “exhalted process” to get the most from this book. In- stead of showing you how you should develop your software, I show you how Subversion
can make your process easier.
The Layout of the Book
The book is split into five sections, each covering Subversion from a different perspective.
Part I: An Introduction to Version Control and Subversion
This first part looks at Subversion from the beginner’s perspective. It explains what version control is, why it is useful, and how Subversion fits into the version control world. It shows
you how to install and set up Subversion, and it walks you through Subversion’s essential features.
Chapter 1 An introduction to the essential concepts that make up a version control system.
