Pragmatic Version Control, Second Edition
Using Subversion
By Mike Mason
Second Edition May 2006
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf
ISBN: 0-9776166-5-7
Pages: 256
Price: $34.95 USD
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/0977616657/ (http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/0977616657/)
In his book, “Pragmatic Version Control”, Mike Mason starts with explaining what version control is and why you need it. My current employer changed from using CVS to Subversion. I had no experience with either one, and began stumbling through using Subversion without any base knowledge of how to use it. I started reading this book and immediately began feeling comfortable in the new environment. Mike Mason does a very good job of explaining things in a way that anyone new to Subversion, or version control for that matter, can easily understand and start using without any problems. Mike walks through a tutorial of setting up a new installation of subversion, creating a repository, and checking in and out projects. He covers everything from the most common commands, to file locking, to using third-party software.
This book uses a “recipe”-based approach to learning Subversion. I’m the kind of guy that learns by example and that’s exactly what this book does. I would highly recommend this book to anyone considering using a version control system. As I mentioned, I’ve never used CVS or any of the alternative versioning systems, but with this book, Subversion just seems so easy and simple to use. And, if you are currently using CVS, this book walks through the procedure and steps required for migrating from CVS to Subversion. Mike also explains some of the differences between the two systems and points them out throughout the book. The appendixes are packed full of in-depth information and additional examples, including advanced repository management and securing Subversion. Wow, an entire book full of Subversion, I’d say Mike covers it all. |
