Pragmatic Version Control: Using Subversion

I've been using CVS for the past few years and have been mostly happy. However, there have been some discussions among developers at my company about moving to Subversion. I was unclear on the differences between CVS and Subversion so I took some time to read Pragmatic Version Control: Using Subversion (The Pragmatic Starter Kit Series)(2nd Edition). The book begins with some very useful introductory material describing version control in general. I realized while reading that, although I'm a long-time user of CVS, there were some aspects of version control that I was never very clear on. I appreciated these foundational chapters. I also appreciated Mason's sensitivity to the many readers who might have experience with CVS. He frequently points out differences and similarities and explains Subversion functionality in a way CVS users can understand. After getting the reader up to speed on version control in general, the book moves progressively deeper into the administration and use of Subversion. There is also information on migrating from CVS to Subversion, third party tools, and IDE integration. (I'm in an IBM shop and am looking forward to trying out the Subclipse plugin to integrate Subversion into IBM's Rational Application Developer.) This book will give you everything you need to get up and running quickly. But, it will also give you much more. If you're interested in exploring every nook and cranny of Subversion, you won't be disappointed. In the end, I discovered that the Subversion project was started by a team of developers with significant CVS experience. They felt that CVS was an aging platform and wanted to build a new, high-performance, version control system that would also fix of all CVS's shortcomings. After reading this book, I can say that I'm hoping to make the move to Subversion soon. The book was very informative and well written. Recommended. Check out the table of contents and sample chapters on the Pragmatic Publisher website.

I've used Subversion to download the source for a couple of open sourced software packages, but that was the extent that I had used it. I decided I wanted to implement revision control on a couple of my projects, so I picked up this book. The biggest thing I liked about this book was the fact that it wasn't just an installation tutorial like so many tech books seem to be. In addition to installation instructions and configuration, it also gave a thourough walkthrough on how to use Subversion to its full potential. It gave reasons as to why you should place X types of files in Z location, using real-world examples. Another thing I like is its platform-independance. Many books such as this assume you will be using a Lnix variant. Another may assume you will be using Windows. This book gives commands that will work with both platforms, and gives separate commands when there is a difference. It also goes into using the SVN client on a windows box while connecting to a Linux based server, and vise versa. The only real complaint I have is it didn't go into enough detail on using svn+ssh to connect to your repository. The book assumes that the repository box is directly attached to the Internet, not behind another firewall or router. This causes some headaches getting th configuration to work, and I feel the book could have resolved this with a few more pages. If you've been thinking about setting up a Source Code Control system such as Subversion, but have been assuming it is too difficult, pick up this book and you'll find it is a lot simpler than you had expected.

The value of version control is well known, but getting started can be tough. Many articles begin with the assumption that the reader is already doing version control and is familiar with the related issues. Having read two other books in the pragmatic series, I had high expectations for this book as well as the related product. This book is a good introduction to version control, but more specifically an excellent introduction to Subversion. The pragmatic programmers come to the rescue with practical advice on how to organize your assets. For me the two best parts of the book are the "Recipes" for using Subversion in the course of application development and the insight on using and managing trunks, branches, and tags. It is much less expensive to gain these valuable insights vicariously (and before your project has a train wreck). The chapters introduce version control, show how to get started with Subversion, organizing the Repository, using tags and branches, and managing third party code. The appendices cover the installation and administration of Subversion (for both Windows and Linux), migration to Subversion, third-party tools for Subversion, command summary and recipes, and other resources. Throughout the book, the author uses the command line interface to work with Subversion. While an IDE interface may be used for actual development, seeing the commands executed is a great learning tool. Each command is explained in the context of how it can help solve project-related issues. The explanations are clear and thorough. Illustrations are well used to supplement the text. In the course of the explanations, differences between the CVS and Subversion are noted to ease the transition. This little book is a good value. It is concise, but rather complete. Beware, after you read it, you may find that Subversion is a better solution than what you currently use for version control.

At first this book seems unobtrusive next to some other 400+ page books on your bookshelf. However, don't overlook it... This book is really easy to read, has good theory coverage, is brimming with down to earth practical examples and has lots of best practices that one should be using. The first 150 pages give the reader an in-depth introduction to Subversion and common place version control theory and mechanisms. The last 50 pages cover the appendix dealing with installation, security, migration from dated versioning systems such as CVS, third party tools and last but not least a command summary and set of recipes. I took a complete day to read the book and try out the examples. Considering the price of the book and the time spent reading it, its return on investment is high. It certainly knocks the socks off some commercial products and training I've seen in the past. Really this is one book I recommend for Architects, Software Engineers and SCM specialists even if you're not using Subversion!

Here's a straightforward book with two audiences. First, if you've never actually used version control and you're a bit unsure of why you should and where to start, it provides a gentle introduction to the subject, explaining why this is one of the cornerstones of serious software development. Second, if you are already familiar with version control but thinking of moving to Subversion (particularly if you're already using CVS, the system from which the Subversion designers made their escape) this is the book to get you up and running with a minimum of fuss. The focus is on teaching you how to perform the basic operations that everyone needs to know to use version control efficiently: putting files into a repository, getting them out again, resolving conflicts among multiple developers, handling branches, and so on. You likely won't learn every niggling little detail about Subversion from this book (especially given that it's a program still under active development) but you'll learn plenty enough to get the job done. After covering the basics of version control and some of the reasons why Subversion is a good choice, Mason shows you how to install things and handle the most basic commands - checking files in and out, and merging changes. He then moves on to larger organizational issues, including tags and branches, multiple repositories, sharing code, and how to handle third-party code. If you've read the earlier Pragmatic Bookshelf title Pragmatic Version Control using CVS you'll find that this book is a port of that one. That is, it includes the same examples, rewritten with Subversion syntax instead of CVS syntax. But it's not always a direct port. The new book is substantially longer than the old one, since Subversion is more flexible, and where Subversion offers a better way to do things than CVS Mason doesn't hesitate to point it out. You'll also find some coverage here of other topics like using the Windows GUI tool TortoiseSVN, migrating from other systems to Subversion, and setting up Apache to handle Subversion over HTTP. There's a handy listing of commands and recipes at the tail end of the book which provides a fast reference for people who prefer to work at the command line - which, after all, is the most natural environment for Subversion. Perhaps the best testimonial to the power of Subversion here is that the author convinced the publisher to switch. Pragmatic used to keep book files in a CVS repository. Now they use Subversion. If you're considering making the switch yourself, it's definitely worth picking up a copy of this easy read to help you along the way to success.