Version Control with Subversion [Paperback]

C. Michael Pilato (Author), Ben Collins-Sussman (Author), Brian W. Fitzpatrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 29, 2004

One of the greatest frustrations in most software projects is version control: the art of managing changes to information. Today's increasingly fast pace of software development--as programmers make small changes to software one day only to undo them the next--has only heightened the problem; consecutive work on code or single-programmer software is a rare sight these days. Without careful attention to version control, concurrent and collaborative work can create more headaches than it solves. This is where Subversion comes into play.

Written by members of the Subversion open source development team, Version Control with Subversion introduces the powerful new versioning tool designed to be the successor to the Concurrent Version System or CVS. CVS users will find the "look and feel" Subversion comfortably familiar, but under the surface it's far more flexible, robust, and usable, and more importantly, it improves on CVS's more notable flaws.

The book begins with a general introduction to Subversion, the basic concepts behind version control, and a guided tour of Subversion's capabilities and structure. With thorough attention to detail, the authors cover every aspect of installing and configuring Subversion for managing a programming project, documentation, or any other team-based endeavor. Later chapters cover the more complex topics of branching, repository administration, and other advanced features such as properties, externals, and access control. The book ends with reference material and appendices covering a number of useful topics such as a Subversion complete reference and troubleshooting guide.

Version Control with Subversion aims to be useful to readers of widely different backgrounds, from those with no previous experience in version control to experienced sysadmins. If you've never used version control, you'll find everything you need to get started in this book. And if you're a seasoned CVS pro, this book will help you make a painless leap into Subversion.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ben Collins-Sussman, one of the founding developers of the Subversion version control system, led Google’s Project Hosting team and now manages the engineering team for the Google Affiliate Network. He cofounded Google’s engineering office in Chicago and ported Subversion to Google’s Bigtable platform. Ben coauthored Version Control with Subversion, and contributed chapters to Unix in a Nutshell and Linux in a Nutshell.

Brian Fitzpatrick leads Google’s Data Liberation Front and Transparency Engineering teams and has previously led Google's Project Hosting and Google Affiliate Network teams. He cofounded Google’s Chicago engineering office and serves as both thought leader and internal advisor for Google's open data efforts.

C. Michael Pilato (Mike) is a leader in the Subversion community, and a core developer of both Subversion and ViewCVS. He is currently employed by CollabNet, where he spends his days (and many nights) improving Subversion and other tools with which it integrates. When he's not programming, Mike enjoys composing and performing music, freelance graphic design work, hiking, and spending quality time with his wife and son. Mike holds a degree in computer science and mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He maintains a personal website at http://cmichaelpilato.com/.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (June 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596004486
• ISBN-13: 978-0596004484
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,101,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ben Collins-Sussman is one of the founding developers of the Subversion version control system, co-authored O'Reilly's "Version Control with Subversion" book as well as chapters for "Unix in a Nutshell" and "Linux in a Nutshell." Ben co-founded Google's engineering office in Chicago, ported Subversion to Google's Bigtable platform, led Google Code's Project Hosting team, and now manages the engineering team for the Google Affiliate Network.

Prior to joining Google, Ben was a senior software engineer on the version control team at CollabNet. He has been an active open source contributor for over twelve years, contributing to numerous open source projects, mostly revolving around version control and online gaming.

Ben collects hobbies which tend to explore the tension between art and science. He has given numerous talks about the social challenges of software development. He writes interactive fiction games and tools, and was the co-winner of the 15th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition. He has co-authored several original musicals and received multiple awards for musical theater composition. He has an Extra-class FCC license for amateur radio, and also spends time learning DSLR photography and playing bluegrass banjo.

Ben is a proud native of Chicago, and holds Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Chicago with a major in Mathematics and minor in Linguistics. He still lives in Chicago with his wife, kids, and cats.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

226 of 266 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't Buy this Book - get it for free! July 30, 2004

By P. Webb

Format:Paperback

This first edition has numerous code errors in examples, and basic command listings. It is a total waste of time and money trudging through misprints. This book is 1month old and is already useless. For example if you followed the instructions in Chapter 2 as to how to create a repository, then followed the instructions on how to checkout you would Fail right away because the example command is missing a "/".... Small but high impact misprint!

If you're serious about stepping up to subversion, this book is licensed under GPL and as such can be downloaded for free from svnbook.red-bean.com.

My only regret with subversion so far is spending $25 to find out I could have gotten a much more error free version for nothing!

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Subversion (the book and the software) rocks! July 19, 2004

By W. Bumgarner

Format:Paperback

If you are a CVS user, you need to immediately move to Subversion. CVS is damaged goods (no atomic commits, broken tags/branches, broken client/server, etc..). Subversion fixes all of this and takes it a generation further (WebDAV access, sensible branching, excellent diff'ing, etc).

This book does an excellent job of teaching the reader exactly how to effectively use Subversion. Whether new to revision control, coming from CVS or from some other RC system, the Subversion Book provides a very clear and often humorous guide to effectively deploying, administrating and using Subversion.

An excellent book.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My most important Subversion reference July 20, 2004

By Blake Nicholson

Format:Paperback

This book is an excellent resource for novice and experienced Subversion users alike. The first two chapters provide background on why subversion came into existence and general version control concepts. Anybody new to Subversion should carefully read chapter 3. The 'Basic Work Cycle' section explains the day-to-day use of Subversion well.

Chapters 5 and 6 have been invaluable in setting up our repositories. I particularly recommend people read the section on choosing a repository layout prior to setting up their repository. Setting up a Subversion repository to be served through Apache is more complicated than a local repository, but the 'httpd' section of chapter 6 clearly covers what to do. We now have a Subversion repository served through Apache that authenticates users with client-side certificates and encrypts communications over SSL.

Chapter 7 provided the information I needed to really get Subversion working exactly as I wanted it to. I have modified my config file to set what files Subversion should ignore and also what properties to set automatically. In addition, we have set up our projects so that they all have transparent access to the company's reusable code library using the svn:externals property (covered in the externals definitions section).

Appendix A is the place to start if you are an experienced CVS user making the transition to Subversion. There are a few significant changes that you need to be aware of.

The examples in the book use the command-line client, but Appendix D (Third Party Tools) provides URLs for the many GUI clients available, if that's your preference.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is the book you need July 4, 2006

By Mathias Magnusson

Format:Paperback

If you want to understand subversion, this book will take you through all aspects and it will give you the knowledge you need to plan your own implementation.

The online version is good and for things you would like to have a better solution than what the book describes, looking them up in the current online book may show that the feature you wanted has already been implemented. However, the value of having your own paperback version cannot be overstated if you need to know the product well or you're responsible for planning an implementation of it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written manual for a solid software program October 10, 2004

By Harold McFarland HALL OF FAMEVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

If you develop software of any type you quickly learn the importance of a good revision control system. Sometimes a minor change that fixes a bug at one point causes other portions of the program to have problems. Revision control systems allow you keep various versions of your program and go back to a prior version easily. If there are multiple people working on the project then the ability to commit changes and see what happens but easily get back to where you were becomes even more important. If you are writing a modular program then as each person or group changes their module you may need to get a current version of the project with a prior version of a module. A revision control system handles all these problems easily. Subversion is an open source version control system that can be used on any operating system that supports the Apache httpd server including Windows, Linux, and NetWare.

Version Control with Subversion is a highly useful book written with a slant toward the Linux OS. It is easy to read and understand if you are at least familiar with version control software at a theoretical level and is highly recommended. One really nice feature is an appendix covering the differences between Subversion and the popular CVS software. If you are used to CVS then this appendix makes the switch to Subversion much easier.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Are you using Subversion yet? August 26, 2004

By C. T. Parker

Format:Paperback

If you're still using CVS, you should be switching to Subversion. Really. If you haven't yet switched because you're not sure of Subversion's capabilities or need some guidance, then this is the book for you.

The authors have put together an excellent overview of Subversion in concise detail. Including everything from setup to day-to-day use, this book outlines what you need to not only get your project up and running using Subversion, but also the best practices wisdom gleaned from the project developers' own experience with the system. For this last part alone, the book is worth the money.

The book is excellent documentation; well-written and to the point. It's everything you need to effectively use Subversion on a day-to-day basis.