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388:) their modifications to the server. To avoid conflicts, the server only accepts changes made to the most recent version of a file. Developers are therefore expected to keep their working copy up-to-date by incorporating other people's changes on a regular basis. This task is mostly handled automatically by the CVS client, requiring manual intervention only when an
36:
445:) C compiler. The three of us had vastly different schedules (one student was a steady 9-5 worker, the other was irregular, and I could work on the project only in the evenings). Their project ran from July 1984 to August 1985. CVS was initially called cmt, for the obvious reason that it allowed us to commit versions independently.
311:
for efficient storage of different versions of the same file. This works well with large text files with few changes from one version to the next. This is usually the case for source code files. On the other hand, when CVS is told to store a file as binary, it will keep each individual version on the
404:
CVS can also maintain different "branches" of a project. For instance, a released version of the software project may form one branch, used for bug fixes, while a version under current development, with major changes and new features, can form a separate branch. CVS assumes that the majority of work
452:
The code that eventually evolved into the current version of CVS started with Brian
Berliner in April 1989, with later input from Jeff Polk and many other contributors. Brian Berliner wrote a paper introducing his improvements to the CVS program—which describes how the tool was extended and used
392:
arises between a checked-in modification and the yet-unchecked local version of a file. Clients can also use the "update" command to bring their local copies up-to-date with the newest version on the server. Clients can also compare versions, request a complete history of changes, or check out a
319:
because when they are stored in a version control system they can pose a security risk. For instance, a symbolic link to a sensitive file can be stored in the repository, making the sensitive file accessible even when it is not checked in. In place of symbolic links, scripts that require certain
383:
and its history, and clients connect to the server in order to "check out" a complete copy of the project, work on this copy and then later "check in" their changes. CVS servers can allow "anonymous read access", wherein clients may check out and compare versions with either a blank or simple
384:
published password (e.g., "anoncvs"); only the check-in of changes requires a personal account and password in these scenarios. Several developers may work on the same project concurrently, each one editing files within their own "working copy" of the project, and sending (or
393:
historical snapshot of the project (e.g.: based on a given date). If the check-in operation succeeds, then the version numbers of all files involved automatically increment, and the server writes a user-supplied description line, the date and the author's name to its
473:
and support for networked operation—which allow dozens of geographically dispersed programmers to share their work—fits the collaborative nature of the open-source world very well. CVS and its semi-chaotic development model have become cornerstones of open-source.
300:(RCS), an older version control system that manages individual files but not whole projects. It expands upon RCS by adding support for repository-level change tracking, and a client-server model. Files are tracked using the same history format as in RCS, with a
478:
Over time, developers have created new version control systems based on CVS in order to add features, alter the operational model, and improve developers' productivity. CVS replacement projects include
453:
internally by Prisma, a third-party developer working on the SunOS kernel, and was released for the benefit of the community under the GPL. On
November 19, 1990, CVS version 1.0 was submitted to the
469:
In the world of open source software, the
Concurrent Version System (CVS) has long been the tool of choice for version control. And rightly so. CVS itself is free software, and its non-restrictive
1628:
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takes place on the trunk, and that branches should generally be short-lived or historical. When used as designed, branches are easily managed and branch operations are efficient and fast.
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files. CVS can also run external, user-specified log processing scripts following each commit. These scripts are installed by an entry in CVS's
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server. This is typically used for non-text files such as executable images where it is difficult to create compact deltas between versions.
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I created CVS to be able to cooperate with my students, Erik
Baalbergen and Maarten Waage, on the ACK (
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809:"Concurrent Versions System - News: Stable CVS Version 1.11.23 Released! [Savannah]"
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file, which can trigger email notification or convert the log data into a Web-based format.
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Years, where available, indicate the date of first stable release. Systems with names
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Ben
Collins-Sussman, Version Control with Subversion For Subversion 1.1, 2005
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1413:
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567:
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213:
1024:
717:
174:
35:
1017:
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privileges and conscious intervention to execute may be checked into CVS.
1543:
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517:
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containing a corresponding history file for each file in the repository.
328:
CVS labels a single project (set of related files) that it manages as a
773:"CVS II: Parallelizing Software Development - Berliner (ResearchIndex)"
527:
380:
537:
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1177:
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418:
356:. Changes to the working copy are reflected in the repository by
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1126:
414:
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993:
643:"Opening The Source Repository With Anonymous CVS, USENIX 1999"
1393:
29:
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are no longer maintained or have planned end-of-life dates.
379:
architecture: a server stores the current version(s) of a
621:"The Evolution of Version Control System (VCS) Internals"
568:
CVS Feature
Version 1.12.13 Released! * Security Update *
668:"Subversion Users: Re: Performance (Subversion vs. CVS)"
252:
594:"CVS--Concurrent Versions System v1.12.12.1: Overview"
372:
the changes in the repository with the working copy.
334:. A CVS server stores the modules it manages in its
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449:Grune publicly released the code on June 23, 1986.
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138:
116:
94:
82:
899:
666:Collins-Sussman, Ben; Greg Ward (September 2004).
1629:Unix archivers and compression-related utilities
467:
460:The latest version was released on 8 May 2008.
439:
836:"Subversion FAQ: Why does this project exist?"
1040:
27:Historical centralized version control system
8:
77:
340:. Programmers acquire copies of modules by
1341:
1161:
1077:
1047:
1033:
1025:
425:), while CVS clients may run on any major
186:
76:
641:Charles D. Cranor; Theo de Raadt (1999).
421:server also supports various flavors of
60:of all important aspects of the article.
549:
791:"[cvs] Contents of /ccvs/NEWS"
513:Comparison of version-control software
56:Please consider expanding the lead to
863:. Ben Collins-Sussman. Archived from
413:The server software normally runs on
7:
940:Per Cederqvist; et al. (2002).
557:Stable CVS Version 1.11.23 Released!
505:Free and open-source software portal
145:1.12.13 / September 28, 2005
902:Pragmatic Version Control Using CVS
619:Stopak, Jacob (November 30, 2019).
344:. The checked-out files serve as a
457:for development and distribution.
25:
1148:
979:Open Source Development with CVS
718:"Concurrent Versions System CVS"
655:from the original on 2022-10-09.
497:
34:
693:"cvs branchtag performance fix"
48:may be too short to adequately
1624:Software using the GPL license
58:provide an accessible overview
1:
1619:Free version control software
1614:Free software programmed in C
906:. The Pragmatic Programmers.
737:"CVS, an RCS front-end (cvs)"
123:1.11.23 / May 8, 2008
274:Concurrent Versioning System
943:Version Management with CVS
921:Jennifer Vesperman (2006).
861:"Dispelling Subversion FUD"
735:Dick Grune (July 3, 1986).
1645:
1604:Concurrent Versions System
691:West, Adrian (July 2004).
580:"Contents of /ccvs/README"
266:Concurrent Versions System
78:Concurrent Versions System
1562:
1146:
1062:
925:(2e ed.). O'Reilly.
160:
112:
18:Concurrent Version System
1056:Version control software
455:Free Software Foundation
280:originally developed by
1284:Software Change Manager
464:Adoption and successors
417:(although at least the
298:Revision Control System
476:
447:
443:Amsterdam Compiler Kit
278:version control system
147:; 18 years ago
125:; 16 years ago
100:; 33 years ago
98:November 19, 1990
779:on September 9, 2004.
795:cvs.savannah.gnu.org
982:. Paraglyph Press.
813:savannah.nongnu.org
79:
972:Karl Franz Fogel;
946:. Network Theory.
292:CVS operates as a
1591:
1590:
1517:Delta compression
1471:
1470:
1331:
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1321:Visual SourceSafe
1174:(1986, 1990 in C)
1144:
1143:
423:Microsoft Windows
366:is to acquire or
309:delta compression
263:
262:
75:
74:
16:(Redirected from
1636:
1448:(via Git) (2014)
1442:(via Git) (2013)
1345:Free/open-source
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1165:Free/open-source
1162:
1152:
1082:Free/open-source
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1021:
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1018:Official website
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992:. Archived from
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956:. Archived from
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867:on July 18, 2011
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775:. Archived from
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695:. Archived from
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672:subversion-users
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600:on 15 April 2012
596:. Archived from
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437:Grune recalled:
427:operating system
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302:hidden directory
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242:GPL-1.0-or-later
230:Revision control
209:Operating system
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1529:File comparison
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1184:QVCS Enterprise
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140:Preview release
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95:Initial release
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66:September 2018
52:the key points
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1252:Dimensions CM
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1212:Azure DevOps
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1158:Client–server
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1115:The Librarian
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996:on 2014-07-16
995:
991:
989:1-932111-81-6
985:
981:
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975:
970:
960:on 2014-08-05
959:
955:
953:0-9541617-1-8
949:
945:
944:
938:
934:
932:0-596-52703-9
928:
924:
923:Essential CVS
919:
915:
913:0-9745140-0-4
909:
904:
903:
897:
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889:
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866:
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845:September 21,
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757:September 14,
753:
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722:dickgrune.com
719:
713:
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699:on 2009-08-03
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315:CVS excludes
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19:
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1319:
1308:Team Concert
1296:Surround SCM
1257:
1243:
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1065:
998:. Retrieved
994:the original
978:
962:. Retrieved
958:the original
942:
922:
901:
892:David Thomas
869:. Retrieved
865:the original
855:
843:. Retrieved
830:
821:
812:
803:
794:
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777:the original
767:
755:. Retrieved
730:
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701:. Retrieved
697:the original
686:
675:. Retrieved
671:
661:
636:
626:22 September
624:. Retrieved
614:
602:. Retrieved
598:the original
588:
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346:working copy
345:
342:checking out
341:
335:
329:
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291:
273:
269:
265:
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89:The CVS Team
84:Developer(s)
63:
47:
45:lead section
1522:Interleaved
1462:Plastic SCM
1430:Proprietary
1337:Distributed
1207:AccuRev SCM
1200:Proprietary
1107:Proprietary
896:Andrew Hunt
745:mod.sources
533:TortoiseCVS
409:Portability
386:checking in
375:CVS uses a
1598:Categories
1575:Comparison
1549:Repository
1408:GNU Bazaar
1367:Code Co-op
1190:Subversion
1074:Local only
1066:in italics
1000:2002-02-05
964:2009-11-25
884:References
840:Subversion
703:2010-07-07
677:2010-07-07
604:9 December
485:Subversion
429:platform.
359:committing
337:repository
282:Dick Grune
198:Written in
166:Repository
152:2005-09-28
130:2008-05-08
105:1990-11-19
1500:Changeset
1414:Mercurial
1353:BitKeeper
1266:Integrity
1238:ClearCase
974:Moshe Bar
741:Newsgroup
362:them. To
354:workspace
324:Operation
307:CVS uses
294:front end
214:Unix-like
181:/projects
50:summarize
1568:Category
1544:Monorepo
1483:Baseline
1476:Concepts
1455:TeamWare
1446:Services
1420:Monotone
1401:GNU arch
1290:StarTeam
1280:(1980s?)
1232:) (2014)
1226:Services
1222:) (2005)
1121:Panvalet
976:(2003).
898:(2003).
871:June 30,
650:Archived
523:OpenGrok
518:Cervisia
491:See also
175:savannah
1302:Synergy
1286:(1970s)
1254:(1980s)
1123:(1970s)
749:Usenet:
743::
528:StatCVS
433:History
399:loginfo
381:project
350:sandbox
276:) is a
255:.nongnu
248:Website
237:License
218:Windows
177:.nongnu
150: (
128: (
103: (
1505:Commit
1488:Branch
1464:(2006)
1458:(1992)
1440:Server
1422:(2003)
1416:(2005)
1410:(2005)
1404:(2001)
1396:(2005)
1390:(2007)
1388:Fossil
1384:(2002)
1376:(2002)
1370:(1997)
1362:(2017)
1360:Breezy
1356:(2000)
1324:(1994)
1316:(2003)
1310:(2008)
1304:(1990)
1298:(2002)
1292:(1995)
1274:(1995)
1268:(2001)
1262:(1984)
1248:(1994)
1240:(1992)
1216:Server
1209:(2002)
1192:(2000)
1186:(1998)
1180:(1998)
1137:(1991)
1129:(1985)
1117:(1969)
1098:(1973)
1092:(1982)
986:
950:
929:
910:
751:
538:ViewVC
364:update
331:module
288:Design
1539:Merge
1510:Gated
1493:Trunk
1374:Darcs
1314:Vault
1228:(via
1218:(via
1178:CVSNT
653:(PDF)
646:(PDF)
544:Notes
481:CVSNT
419:CVSNT
369:merge
272:, or
1582:List
1534:Fork
1381:DCVS
1278:SCLM
1259:DSEE
1245:CMVC
1230:TFVC
1220:TFVC
1134:QVCS
1127:PVCS
1096:SCCS
984:ISBN
948:ISBN
927:ISBN
908:ISBN
873:2010
847:2009
759:2016
628:2020
606:2011
483:and
415:Unix
257:.org
225:Type
183:/cvs
179:.org
1554:Tag
1394:Git
1172:CVS
1090:RCS
395:log
352:or
296:to
270:CVS
253:cvs
1600::
894:;
838:.
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216:,
1048:e
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268:(
202:C
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