[ale] Subversion?

[Chris Fowler]

CVS allows you to control the present.  The past can not be changed. 
These are strict rules that I think all control systems should live by.
If it is committed or taged then it can *never* be changed.

On Thu, 2004-01-15 at 18:15, Danny Cox wrote:
> John,
> 
> On Wed, 2004-01-14 at 08:56, John Wells wrote:
> > I'm in a position to decide on a versioning control system for our
> > company's dev team.  Naturally, my first thought was CVS, but I've seen a
> > few blips for Subversion (subversion.tigris.org) and must say I like some
> > of the features (http://svnbook.red-bean.com/html-chunk/ch01s03.html).
> 
> > Anyone out there using Subversion?  What's your experience regarding
> > stability and usefulness?  Any caveats or kudos?
> 
> 	I've not used it, but it's been self-hosting for over a year now. 
> That's got to be a testimony, but see below.
> 
> 	Caveat: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from
> a rigged demo ;-)
> 
> 	As I recall the story, Linus wanted a specific feature that didn't
> exist in ANY version control system at the time, and I don't know if
> I'll be able to explain it properly or not, but here goes:
> 
> 	given a kernel driver/feature/project,
> 	fork it: one branch shows up in the "standard" kernel
> 	the other one is developed
> 	continue accepting patches for both branches
> 	when the "new" branch is "ready", logically swap the
> 	branches, then drop the "old" one.
> 
> or something like that.  The developer of BitKeeper, what's-his-name was
> visiting Linus and the began a discussion that resulted in the
> development of BitKeeper, BitMover (the company), and ultimatly, fights
> between what's-his-name and most of the linux kernel community :-(.
> 
> 	The main problem(s) with CVS is that it doesn't understand file
> meta-information.  For example, you can't rename a file.  Well, you can,
> but you must know what you're doing.  Renaming a directory is even
> harder.  But, it'll handle file changes like a champ.
> 
> 	Have I rambled enough?  Sorry.
> 
> 	Caveat Emptor!
> 
> 	Up the Universe!