Getting started with Version Control

Question

I need to implement version control, even for just the developing I do at home. I have read about how great Subversion is for the past couple years and was about to dedicat

Answer 1

It's not that difficult to switch between version control systems. As others have mentioned the important thing is to start using anything as soon as possible. The benefits of using source control over not using source control vastly outweigh the differential benefits between different types of source control.

Remember that no matter what version of source control you are using you will always be able to do a brute force conversion to another system by laying down the files from your old system onto disk and then importing those raw files into the new system.

Moreover, being familiar with source control fundamentals is a very, very important skill to have as a software developer.

Answer 2

Git is superior to subversion, but it's a little bit out on the bleeding edge.

I'd say, if you're just getting started, jump on the edge; setup a free account @ http://github.com

They have educational material on site for setting up & using git.

Answer 3

superjoe30 writes:

Related question (perhaps answers can be edited to answer this question as well):

What about using source control on your own computer, if you're the sole programmer? Is >>this good practice? Are there related tips or tricks?

I use SVN for all of my personal projects. I started off with running svn on my home machine but eventually migrated over to Dreamhost. Their hosting packages that include Subversion are pretty reasonable.

Answer 4

Also try out visual svn for your server if you want to avoid any command line work.

Answer 5

If you are on Mac OSX, I found http://www.versionsapp.com/">Versions to be an incredible (free) GUI front-end to SVN.

Answer 6

As mentioned many times elsewhere, Just Do It. I was able to get started from scratch with Subversion under Windows in no time by reading the quick-start guide in the Red Book. Once I pointed TortoiseSVN at the repository, I was in business. It took me a while to get the finer points down, but they were minor humps to get over.

I'd suggest installing the Subversion Service instead of using file:// URLs, but that's mostly personal preference. For a repository stored on your development machine, file:// works fine.