Subversion (software)

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{{Infobox Software | name = Subversion | logo = | screenshot = | caption = | developer = | latest_release_version = 1.3.1 | latest_release_date = April 3 2006 | latest_preview_version = | latest_preview_date = | operating_system = Linux, Windows, Mac OS X | platform = | genre = revision control | license = Apache/BSD Style | website = Subversion Home }}

Subversion is an open source system for revision control, sometimes known as svn from the name of its command line interface. Subversion is designed specifically to be a modern replacement for CVS and shares a number of the same key developers.

1 Improvements over CVS
2 Features
- 2.1 Repository access
3 Related Software
- 3.1 GUI front-ends/clients
- 3.2 Other projects of note
4 References
5 External links

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Improvements over CVS

Subversion was created as a replacement for CVS. Its improvements include:

Atomic commits. Interrupted commit operations do not cause repository inconsistency or corruption.
Renamed/copied/(re)moved files retain full revision history.
Native support for binary files, with space-efficient binary-diff storage.
Directories are versioned. Entire directory trees can be moved around and/or copied very quickly, and retain full revision history.
Constant time branching and tagging.
Optimized repository accesses. This reduces unnecessary network traffic to the repository host.

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Features

Version 1.3 (released 1 January, 2006):

Path-based authorization for svnserve
Improved logging and repository listing in mod_dav_svn
Hugely improved Python and Ruby bindings
A handful of new command line switches
Some client and server performance improvements
Many improved APIs
More than 30 new bugfixes

Version 1.2 (released May 2005):

File locking for unmergeable files ("reserved checkouts")
Full WebDAV auto-versioning

Version 1.1 added these features among others:

Internationalised program messages
Versioning of symbolic links
A new repository format, "flat filesystem" (FSFS), which doesn't use a Berkeley database backend, instead storing the revisions as plain files in the file system.

Version 1.0 of Subversion (released 23 February, 2004) offers the following features:

Most current CVS features
Directories, renames, and file metadata are versioned
Commits are truly atomic operations
Apache HTTP server as network server, WebDAV/DeltaV for protocol (there is also an independent server process that uses a custom protocol over TCP/IP)
Branching and tagging are cheap (constant time) operations
Natively client/server, layered library design
Client/server protocol sends diffs in both directions
Costs are proportional to change size, not data size
Efficient handling of binary files
Parsable output (including XML log output)
Open Source licensed — "CollabNet/Tigris.org Apache-style license"

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Repository access

As of version 1.3, Subversion repositories can be accessed by the following means:

Local filesystem (FSFS and Berkeley DB) or network filesystem (FSFS only), accessed by client directly.
WebDAV/DeltaV (over http or https) using the mod_dav_svn module for Apache 2.
Custom "svn" protocol, either plaintext or over SSH.

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Related Software

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GUI front-ends/clients

AnkhSVN is a Visual Studio .NET addin. It allows you to perform the most common Subversion operations from directly inside the VS.NET IDE.
eSvn, a Qt-based Subversion client.
gsvn, mostly abandoned by its original authors, due to lack of time; written entirely in python, using [[GTK+]].
JSVN, a proof-of-concept Java Swing client.
kdesvn, a another Subversion client for KDE.
RapidSVN, a cross-platform (Linux, Win32) GUI front-end written in [[C++]] using the wxWidgets framework.
SCPlugin, a Mac OS X plug-in for the Finder.
SmartSVN is a cross-platform (Linux, Mac OS X, Win32) client for Subversion; available as a free Foundation version and as a commercial Professional version. It makes use of the JavaSVN library, a 100% pure Java implementation of Subversion.
Subcommander, a cross-platform (Linux, Win32, Mac OS X) GUI front-end written in [[C++]] using the Qt framework.
svnX, a Mac OS X GUI front-end to command line Subversion.
TortoiseSVN, a Windows shell (i.e. Explorer) extension.
Insurrection Web interface for Subversion.
WebClient for SVN an open source cross-platform (Linux, Win32, Mac OS X) Subversion web client written in Java/JSP. It offers a convenient way of browsing the repository content and its history plus simple write operations.
ZigVersion, a commercial Mac OS X Subversion client.

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Other projects of note

A list of revision control software
The open source Trac project integrates Subversion, an issue tracker, and Wiki functionality into one web-based interface.
The open source Subclipse project integrates Subversion into Eclipse.
The open source SVK project is a decentralized version control system written in Perl, permitting offline operations and advanced merging algorithms. It layers on the Subversion filesystem and its API.
The open source JavaSVN project is a 100% pure Java Subversion client library.
SVN Importer is a free tool for importing content from other version control systems to a Subversion (SVN) repository
CIA is a piece of software that notifies people of repository activity. It is named after the CIA because its role is to "keep an eye on subversion".
The open source Subversive plugin for Eclipse. It provides access to Subversion from Eclipse.

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References

C. Michael Pilato, Ben Collins-Sussman, Brian W. Fitzpatrick; Version Control with Subversion; O'Reilly; ISBN 0596004486 (1st edition, paperback, 2004, full book online at http://svnbook.red-bean.com/)
Garrett Rooney; Practical Subversion; Apress; ISBN 1590592905 (1st edition, paperback, 2005)
Mike Mason; Pragmatic Version Control Using Subversion; Pragmatic Bookshelf; ISBN 0974514063 (1st edition, paperback, 2005)

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