Course VCT101
CVS Version Control for Users
CVS Version Control for Users
Duration: 1 Day
Course Overview
The course will be useful
- programmers working on projects where the version control system is CVS
- web content developers needing to know how to retrieve and store work in a project specific CVS repository
- document authors needing to know how to retrieve and store work in a project specific CVS repository
- system administrators needing to understand CVS
The course assumes only a basic familiarity with computers and the use of computer tools, both via a Gaphical User Interface and (optional) via a command line interface
Course Overview
The purpose of this course is to explain the concepts underlying version control systems and how the CVS version control system works in particular. Normally the use of CVS is covered both using commands entered via a command line console and via a GUI interfaces such as CVSTortoise or WinCVS. In addition to covering the basics of CVS usage the course also discusses important topics such as
- the importance of well structured messages when checking in work
- strategies for structuring a repository when working on more complex projects
- version control issues when having to work with software and tools developed by third parties
Key Skills
- Ability to use a CVS repository from the command line
- Ability to use a CVS repository from a GUI tool such as CVS Tortoise, or WinCVS
- An understanding of CVS conflicts and their resolution
- Ability to use the history features of CVS to selectively retrieve earlier work or to restore parts of a current project to some earlier state
- An understanding of branches, tags and merging
Course Contents
The nature and importance of version control
- A Repository and what should be stored in it
- Structuring of work into projects, modules and files
- Creating and using a Workspace
- Why versioning is important
- Basic concepts of Tags, Branches, Merging
- Locking options in version control systems
- Configuration Management
Basic CVS Repository Usage
- Creating a Repository
- Overview of CVS Commands - from the command line
- Accessing CVS Commands via CVSTortoise or WinCVS
- Creating a basic project
- Creating a workspace and working on a project
- Making changes to project files and updating the repository to store those changes
- Understanding and knowing how to resolve conflicts
Using the Common CVS Commands
- Checking work out
- Updating the contenst of the workspace
- Adding new files and directories
- Ignoring certain files in the workspace when checking work back into the repository
- Renaming files
- Renaming directories
- Differencing to see what has changed
- Handling merge conflicts
- Committing changes
- Examining the change history
- Removing changes
More Advanced CVS Usage - Tags and Branches
- The concepts underlying Tagging and Branching
- Creating Release Branches
- Working on a Release Branch
- Generating a Release
- Fixing bugs and defects in a Release Branch
- Setting up and working with "Experimental" / "New Features" branches
- Merging work from an Experimental Branch back into the Main Trunk
Advanced Topics
- Structuring Projects
- Partitioning a Repository into Modules
- Working with Third Party Code