Version Control with Subversion [Paperback]

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

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 2008

Written by members of the development team that maintains Subversion, this is the official guide and reference manual for the popular open source revision control technology. The new edition covers Subversion 1.5 with a complete introduction and guided tour of its capabilities, along with best practice recommendations.

Version Control with Subversion is useful for people from a wide variety of backgrounds, from those with no previous version control experience to experienced system administrators.

Subversion is the perfect tool to track individual changes when several people collaborate on documentation or, particularly, software development projects. As a more powerful and flexible successor to the CVS revision control system, Subversion makes life so much simpler, allowing each team member to work separately and then merge source code changes into a single repository that keeps a record of each separate version.

Inside the updated edition Version Control with Subversion, you'll find:

• An introduction to Subversion and basic concepts behind version control
• A guided tour of the capabilities and structure of Subversion 1.5
Guidelines for installing and configuring Subversion to manage programming, documentation, or any other team-based project
• Detailed coverage of complex topics such as branching and repository administration
• Advanced features such as properties, externals, and access control
• A guide to best practices
• Complete Subversion reference and troubleshooting guide

If you've never used version control, you'll find everything you need to get started. And if you're a seasoned CVS pro, this book will help you make a painless leap into Subversion.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

C. Michael Pilato (Mike) is a core Subversion developer, and a leader in the Subversion community. He is currently employed by CollabNet, where he spends his days (and many nights) improving Subversion and other tools with which it integrates. A husband and father, this North Carolina native also enjoys composing and performing music, freelance graphic design work, hiking, and spending quality time with his family. Mike has a degree in computer science and mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Ben Collins-Sussman has been a sysadmin and programmer for ten years, and is one of the original designers and authors of Subversion. He currently works for CollabNet as a Subversion developer and community leader. When away from his computer, he moonlights as a musical theater composer at theaters around the city of Chicago. He lives with his lovely wife, three cats, and a house full of computer and music gizmos.

Brian W. Fitzpatrick is a member of the Apache Software Foundation and currently works for Google. He has been involved with Subversion in one way or another since its inception in early 2000. He is also the author of Version Control with Subversion.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; Second Edition edition (September 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596510330
• ISBN-13: 978-0596510336
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

208 of 245 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 (San Francisco, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Version Control with Subversion (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 "bbum" (Cupertino, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Version Control with Subversion (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 (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Version Control with Subversion (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.