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Using Subversion

This appendix provides instructions on performing a few essential version control operations using the Subversion client tool. It doesn’t offer detailed guidance on using Subversion. Consult the Subversion documentation for in-depth explanations.

Installing the Subversion Software

This section shows how to install the server and client software of the Subversion version control system in a computer using Fink. Fink is an open-source project that simplifies the installation of UNIX software in several platforms, including Mac OS X.

To install Fink on your computer, go to http://fink.sourceforge.net and follow the download instructions.

To install the Subversion server software, execute these commands in Terminal:

% sudo apt-get update // 1

Hit us.dl.sourceforge.net 10.3/release/main Packages

Hit us.dl.sourceforge.net 10.3/release/main Release

...

% sudo apt-get install svn // 2

Reading Package Lists... Done

Building Dependency Tree... Done

...

This is what the commands do:

The apt-get update command updates Fink’s list of available packages.
The apt-get install svn command installs the svn package, which contains the Subversion server software.

To install the Subversion client software, execute the following command:

% sudo apt-get install svn-client

Creating a Subversion Repository

Most developers don’t need to worry about creating or managing repositories. This task is usually handled by system administrators. However, if you’re a member of a very small team or the sole programmer in your organization, you may have to create and maintain the repository that holds your company’s source code. Or you may create a local repository to experiment with version control in your computer.

To create a Subversion repository, create its root directory (the directory that contains the repository) and initialize the repository. If you want others to access the repository, you should to create a group containing their usernames and assign the group to the root directory.

Creating the svnusers Group

To create the Subversion users group, execute these commands in Terminal:

% sudo nicl . -create /groups/svnusers // 1

% sudo nicl . -append /groups/svnusers gid 700 // 2

% sudo nicl . -append /groups/svnusers users <user1> <user2>  ... <userN> // 3

% lookupd -flushcache // 4

% memberd -r // 5

This is what the commands do:

Creates the svnusers group.
Assigns an ID number to the svnusers group. You can use any unused group ID number.
Assigns a list of user names to the svnusers group.
Flushes the directory information cache.
Resolves the memberships of the new group.

Creating and Initializing the Root Directory

To create the repository’s root directory, execute the following commands:

% sudo svnadmin create /svnrep // 1

% sudo chgrp svnusers /svnrep/db // 2

% sudo chmod -R g+wx /svnrep/db // 3

This is what the commands do:

Creates and initializes the /svnrep repository directory.
Assigns the svnusers group to the repository’s data directory.
Gives write and execute permissions to the svnusers group for the data directory.

Accessing a Subversion Repository

Subversion uses URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) to identify repositories. Using URLs, you can work with several Subversion repositories at a time. To access a local repository, you use a URL like the following:

file://<repository_root>/<project_path>

For repositories located on remote computers, Subversion offers a variety of options; one of them is SSH. To access a repository on a remote computer using SSH, use a URL like the following:

svn+ssh://<computer_name>/<repository_root>/<project_path>

Before you can access a remote repository using SSH, you have to configure your SSH environment. See Configuring Your SSH Environment for details. Consult the Subversion documentation for information on other access methods.

Importing Projects Into a Subversion Repository

To add a project directory to a Subversion repository, use the svn import command. Its syntax is:

svn import -m "<import_comment>" <source>  <repository>

For example, to import the project directory /Developer/Examples/Networking/Echo into a local repository, you issue the following commands in Terminal:

% svn import -m "Echo added to repository" /Developer/Examples/Networking/Echo  file:///svnrep/Echo

Adding         /Developer/Examples/Networking/Echo/EchoContext.c

Adding         /Developer/Examples/Networking/Echo/main.c

...

Committed revision 1.

Before adding a project directory to a repository, you should move or delete the build directory if it resides in the project directory. You should also move or delete any other directories you don’t want to add to the repository. Otherwise, changes to files in those directories are tracked by your version control system and added to the repository.

Checking Out Projects From a Subversion Repository

To check out a project in a Subversion repository, use the svn checkout command. Its syntax is:

svn checkout <repository> <target>

For example:

% svn checkout file:///svnrep/Echo ~/src/Echo

A  /Users/ernest/src/Echo/EchoContext.c

A  /Users/ernest/src/Echo/main.c

...

Checked out revision 1.

Updating the Project File to the Latest Version in a Subversion Repository

When Xcode is unable to open a project because its project file (project.pbxproj) is corrupted, you must use the svn revert command to restore the project file to the version you last obtained from the repository. For example, to update the project package in a project named Sketch, you execute the svn revert command on the project file, as shown here:

% svn revert Sketch.xcode/project.pbxproj

Reverted 'Sketch.xcode/project.pbxproj'

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