Subversion: useful for anything other then source code?

[jmgri...@gmail.com]

Hi everyone,

I'm interested in using svn for version control, not just for source
code, but also for my projects, documents etc. Reading 43folders
subversion crops up in the comments occasionally.I've already
downloaded the svn client and played around with a small repository.
But before I commit a lot of my stuff to subversion I thought I'd ask
if anyone here was using svn in this way ... in your experience is it a
good/bad idea and are there any pitfalls? I'd be using this on a mac
running Tiger.

[Albert Brandl]

There was an interesting article in Linux Journal some years ago:

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/5976

The author uses CVS for archiving everything in his home directory,
but the ideas will certainly work with subversion also.

Regards,

--
Albert

[Jan Erik Moström]

It's very useful. I've set up a server at home and have my notes
folder under version control. In this way I can easily synchronize two
computers and a memory stick. Not to mention that I've my documents on
two Macs, a Linux server and a memory stick (and my Palm but that's
another story) ... so if one device crashes there should be at least
one place that have my documents intact.

For my notes I never use any of the merge and diff features, I use
subversion only for synchronizing my computers.

--
Jan Erik Moström, mos...@gmail.com

[John SJ Anderson]

If you Google around, there's a follow-up article from the same guy
(Joey Hess) talking about how he now uses Subversion.

I've done both "$HOME in CVS" and "$HOME in SVN", and I much prefer
the latter. Subversion has better support for moving things around,
meaning that you don't have to spend 10 minutes thinking about the
right place to put a file; it supports symlinks, which means you don't
have to spend a bunch of time writing 'fix-up' scripts; and, finally,
the "externs" support makes it a lot easier to segment your stuff into
chunks so you can check out the appropriate chunks in the appropriate
places.

All in all, I think it's worth doing -- maybe not for everybody, but
probably for everybody that's got the skill set that leads them to
consider it in the first place. 8^)= My general tip: don't expect to
be able to do it all in one fell swoop -- split your files into chunks
(like, by sub-directory), and do a chunk at a time, with a couple days
in between. It will give you a better feel for how you want to do it,
and you'll probably end up re-doing the first couple chunks later.

Good luck; let us know how it goes.

cheers,
john.

--
genehack.org * weblog == ( bioinfo / linux / opinion / stuff )

[Lolindrath]

When I used a whole bunch of small text files I kept them all in
Subversion and then synced them between my work and home computers
along with a lot of other documents like my resume and work files I
might need at home.

It was also great to do a diff between my very first version of my
TODO.txt and the current version to see how much I had done.

If you decide to use it checkout http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/ if
you're a windows user, it integrates into Windows Explorer and makes
everything flow very well.

--Andy
www.lolindrath.com

[Chris Thompson]

I use SVN for my websites, my home directory, and, yes, code.

I'd point out that I don't think it's very useful for files that
aren't likely to change over time. I once realized I was checking a
slowly growing directory of photos. I sat back and tried to figure out
what I was trying to accomplish. I wasn't modifying the pictures (if I
did, they ended up in another directory), so it made no sense to check
it in. Revision Control Systems are only really relevant on files with
revisions :)

--
------------------------
Chris Thompson

[Michael Langford]

It is very good for syncing MP3 collections too....although if you
change ID3 tags too often, the server starts storing a LOT of copies
of songs.

One of the issues with things such as rsync and unison is that you
spend a large amount of time determining what's out of sync.
Subversion is a lot faster at that in my experience.

And if you're going to go ahead and install subversion, you may as
well install trac[1] too...a subversion integrated wiki, ticket
tracking software, and file browser.

--Michael

[1] http://www.edgewall.com/trac/

--
Michael Langford --- 404-386-0495
The demon that you can swallow gives
you its power, and the greater life's pain,
the greater life's reply --Joeseph Campbell

[Lolindrath]

Subversion plays nice with binary files unlike CVS and RCS. CVS just
stores a completely new version of the change binary file whereas svn
knows how to calculate the difference. I'm sure its larger than a text
difference but still smaller to store than a whole other copy.

[Lolindrath]

On another note, if you want a lighter implementation checkout
Subversion 1.2

It's a Java-based, Web Start-able version control system.

www.superversion.org

--Andy
www.lolindrath.com

[Jay Goodman Tamboli]

On 2005.12.01, at 09:36, Michael Langford wrote:

It is very good for syncing MP3 collections too....although if you

change ID3 tags too often, the server starts storing a LOT of copies

of songs.

While I also find Subversion very useful, one of the problems I have with using it for things like MP3s is that it keeps a copy of the repository on the local hard drive so it can generate diffs and revert changes without having to query the server. This is great for text files and code, but consider that you've just doubled the disk space used by your MP3 collection. For some, that may not be an issue, but I wanted to mention it for people not familiar with Subversion and considering its use.

/jgt

-- 

http://tamboli.cx/

[Larry Underhill]

On Thu, 2005-12-01 at 10:38 +0000, jmgri...@gmail.com wrote:
> But before I commit a lot of my stuff to subversion I thought I'd ask
> if anyone here was using svn in this way ... in your experience is it a
> good/bad idea and are there any pitfalls? I'd be using this on a mac
> running Tiger.

I have been using a personal svn repository for the past year. Generally
speaking, svn is wonderful if you need to (a) synchronize computers (b)
re-factor documents -- code certainly, but particularly big docs that
are long lived (c) collaborate with others. (d) do disaster recovery.

In addition to being generally helpful, I have also found it can impress
others in the "wow. this person has their act together." kind of way.
Doubly so when you have the Apache WEBDAV front-end on the repository.

"Hey do you remember what used to be in this document?" (you looking
over your changelist) "Well, back on Oct 3rd, we changed it to say blah,
blah, blah. Let me revert back to that version real quick. Ah yes...
here it is. Would you like a copy? Let me send you a link."

Give it a whirl.

--Larry

[dang!]

Lolindrath wrote:
> On another note, if you want a lighter implementation checkout
> Subversion 1.2
>
> It's a Java-based, Web Start-able version control system.
>
> www.superversion.org
>

I gave this a test run and it works like a charm. Thanks for posting it!