Version Control Problems¶

Some problems that complete beginners face when trying to create and work with repositories using current version control systems.

Subversion¶

• Puzzlement over "recommended" trunk/branches/tags structure

When instructing people how to create new projects, it's arguably simplest to ignore this and go for a structure that places them directly in the project directory. But that still results in confusion when checking out other people's projects that do have a difference between root URL and trunk URL.

Note, I'm not counting "difficulty in doing branch merges" etc as a problem for new users of Subversion -- most people will simply never use branches so it's not an issue.

• Difference between repository and working copy

Not a problem for many people, but some seem to find the terminology confusing

• Requirement to update/merge/resolve before commit if someone else has modified the repository

A good user interface can make this workflow clearer

• Forgetting to "svn add" new files

User interface should make a prominent note of files that have been created since the last commit

• Forgetting to use svn when renaming or removing files

• Admin help required for corrupted working copy because of sensitivity to changes in .svn directories (reported)

Mercurial¶

• Requirement to pull/update/merge/resolve/commit before pushing if someone else has modified the repository

A good user interface can make this workflow clearer (a bad one can make it almost impossible), but it is generally more complex than SVN because of:

• Mystification over branches, particularly anonymous branch created when you pull before a merge

A good user interface can still help here by making the branch structure explicit -- many just pile up the change log in a single list