Re: [Serna] File locking/versioning with Serna -- what are others using?

Hi Tim,
Here's a few words from one of our developers that I hope you'll find 
interesting. 

We're storing all our contents for our software projects - including code and 
help source files in a Subversion repository. Subversion is a repository 
system where files aren't locked when users check them out. You use subversion 
by checking out files from a repository, working on them locally - then 
committing your work back to the repository when you're done with your work. 
During your work on the files you checked out you may update and merge in 
changes that have been commited to the files in the repository in the mean 
time.

The subversion repository we're using is hosted on a Windows (2003 server) 
box, and running through Apache as a add-on Module. Running it this way makes 
it integrate with our Active Directory verification system, so that the domain 
username/password is a valid authentication mechanism for the subversion 
repository as well.

Another way to go would be to run the much simpler svnserve on a box.
Never the less, it's (the subversion repository) hostable on any operation 
system (both svnserve and the svn-through-apache).

Here's a guide about howto configure subversion to run through Apache (it's 
amazing that a little googlin' can do) - that's my favorite way to go (FYI):
http://svn.spears.at/

The power of subversion is the ability to run several tracks of development on 
branches and then merge them together when required. I can't say that we have 
tried merging on our dita-based help source yet (at least not when conflicts 
should be resolved) - but since it's simple XML it shouldn't be rocket science 
doing so. Conflicts can be handled with multiple graphical tools, we use 
Eclipse (since we develop code in it) for the task - but a dedicated tool 
named WinMerge can be used for merging Subversion conflicts as well.

Try to set up the repository, read the first couple of chapters of the "Red 
Bean"-book - "Version Control with Subversion" (it's fully available on-line 
via the following link):
http://svnbook.red-bean.com/

Then take it from there. I promise you that you won't regret using subversion 
as a version control system. Again, it's a biased opinion - and other people 
may argue that CVS would be a better way to go. I've been using subversion on 
a daily basis for more than 2 years now, and have begun to love the power of 
it (and accepted it's few quirks).