Mercurial > hg > easyhg
diff help/topics/04.txt @ 494:41a156d439d0
Start adding Help
author | Chris Cannam |
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date | Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:37:27 +0100 |
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--- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/help/topics/04.txt Thu Aug 18 16:37:27 2011 +0100 @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +{Terminology} + +What is a repository? + +When you use a version control system to keep track of your changes to +a set of files, there are two different concepts you're dealing with: +a _working copy_ and a _repository_. + +A _working copy_ is just a folder with your project's files in it. It +contains the versions of the files that you are working with now. + + * EasyMercurial's "My Work" tab shows you which files you have been working on in your current working copy. + +A _repository_ is a record of the entire history of your project. When +change something in the working copy, you can then commit it to the +repository and your change gets added to the history. + + * EasyMercurial's "History" tab shows you the changes that have been committed to your project's history in its repository. + +You can also go back and grab an older version from the repository if +you find you need it. (If you do this, then the working copy will be +updated so as to contain that older version rather than the most +recent one.) + +Older centralised version control systems use a separate database for +the repository. But with a distributed version control system such as +Mercurial, the repository -- the entire history of your project files +-- is stowed into a special folder inside the working copy on your +hard drive. Every change you commit gets added to the history in that +hidden folder. (The history is compressed, so it doesn't take as much +space as you might imagine.) + +The term _remote repository_ simply refers to a repository related to +your local one, but stored on another computer somewhere else. Often +this may be a "master copy" of your project stored on a server +elsewhere, which you and your collaborators can use to keep up with +each other's work, or which you can use to make your work public, or +simply use as a private backup. +