Using Subversion for Website content

[Bostonaholic]

I'm not looking for CMS like drupal or wordpress. I've developed my website entirely myself, from scratch (other than the small amount of jQuery). My day job as a Java developer with many developers working in the same code-base, we use Subversion with a code repository to keep tracking of file versioning. Is there something similar that some of you web developers use to keep track of versioning? I'm (obviously) the only one working on my site, but I'd like a nice way to know, inside my IDE, which files have been modified so I know which files need FTP'd to my web server.

Thanks.

 

[splitpea]

I use SVN for both static and dynamic sites. Just get a web host that provides SSH access and you can just run "svn up" to pull in your updates instead of FTP. I know some people who use Git for the same thing, but you're more likely to find an SVN client installed on a given host's servers.

Another option (what I do for clients who are stuck on hosting without shell access) is a site manager like Dreamweaver that can determine whether the local and remote sites are "synced" and download / upload as necessary to make sure the same versions are in the same places. You can also hook up DW to a diff tool so you can check what the differences are in the sync window.

 

[Bostonaholic]

I use SVN for both static and dynamic sites. Just get a web host that provides SSH access and you can just run "svn up" to pull in your updates. I know some people who use Git for the same thing, but you're more likely to find an SVN client installed on a given host's servers.

Another option (what I do for clients who are stuck on hosting without shell access) is a site manager like Dreamweaver that can determine whether the local and remote sites are "synced" and download / upload as necessary to make sure the same versions are in the same places. You can also hook up DW to a diff tool so you can check what the differences are in the sync window.

I'm not willing to use DW. #1 It's too expensive, #2 I prefer Netbeans as I'm a developer, not a designer.

Yes, I'm used to using SVN and I am very familiar with it, use it every day. And I do have SSH access, I use my terminal to SSH into my hosting server all the time. I guess I need to find out if GoDaddy can handle SVN.

 

[splitpea]

I'm not willing to use DW. #1 It's too expensive, #2 I prefer Netbeans as I'm a developer, not a designer.

Yes, I'm used to using SVN and I am very familiar with it, use it every day. And I do have SSH access, I use my terminal to SSH into my hosting server all the time. I guess I need to find out if GoDaddy can handle SVN.

I don't recall GoDaddy providing SSH access, but is there a reason you're married to them? You can get equally good (arguably better) hosting with much better customer/tech support for the same price elsewhere, unless you're actually going to use 300GB of disk space and a TB of bandwidth every month.

 

[Bostonaholic]

I don't recall GoDaddy providing SSH access, but is there a reason you're married to them? You can get equally good (arguably better) hosting with much better customer/tech support for the same price elsewhere, unless you're actually going to use 300GB of disk space and a TB of bandwidth every month.

Unfortunately, I am married to GD until May. I'm banging my head against the wall now, I don't like them all that much--trying to make the best of it until then. Yes, I do have SSH access, I use it all the time.

 

[HomeBru Studios]

Unfortunately, I am married to GD until May. I'm banging my head against the wall now, I don't like them all that much--trying to make the best of it until then. Yes, I do have SSH access, I use it all the time.

You can always start hosting somewhere else and redirect the domain to the new host. Just because you are contractually married to them doesn't mean you have to actually use them!

 

[Bostonaholic]

You can always start hosting somewhere else and redirect the domain to the new host. Just because you are contractually married to them doesn't mean you have to actually use them!

Sure, but hosting with GD isn't the issue at hand. Unless of course there are other hosting sites that provide SVN. If so, does anyone know of any?

 

[splitpea]

Sure, but hosting with GD isn't the issue at hand. Unless of course there are other hosting sites that provide SVN. If so, does anyone know of any?

Plenty. Most cPanel hosts I know that offer shell access have SVN installed.

I'm a big fan of Verve Hosting, which is a smallish outfit with awesome customer service; also LiquidWeb, which targets a higher-end market (read: more expensive, but worth it). Dreamhost offers SVN (they also provide SVN hosting and a nice little GUI for adding repositories; and lots of server customizability for those of us with a technical background), although I don't recommend them for sites that need high uptime; ASO similarly makes it possible to host your own repositories there, although without the GUI -- they're not the best with uptime either, though, IME.

Most hosts also have a pre-sales support department, so if you aren't sure whether a host you otherwise like offers it, just ask.

 

[angelwatt]

I use DreamHost and they offer SVN, though I don't use it. I have SVN setup on my laptop and use that for my code, and I generally carry a working copy on my flash drive. I don't always have internet access, so that's why I don't trust an internet repository. My editor is BBEdit and integrates with SVN from the editor, but I also use svnX as a GUI for the repository to get a better feel for just what files need committing.

 

[splitpea]

I use DreamHost and they offer SVN, though I don't use it. I have SVN setup on my laptop and use that for my code, and I generally carry a working copy on my flash drive. I don't always have internet access, so that's why I don't trust an internet repository. My editor is BBEdit and integrates with SVN from the editor, but I also use svnX as a GUI for the repository to get a better feel for just what files need committing.

You'd probably find Git is a good match for you, then. I keep my SVN repositories remotely so I can access them from multiple computers even if my home machine is asleep or my connection's down. Worst case scenario if something horrible happens to the repositories I always have my own working copies to at least use as a starting point for recovery. I should probably make a habit of taking more frequent backups of the actual repositories, though.

I never found svnX especially sensible (unlike tortoiseSVN), so I managed to learn the command line. There's a learning curve but it turns out to be quite handy when dealing with remote working copies.

 

[angelwatt]

You'd probably find Git is a good match for you, then.

Git is nice, I've looked into it before. I installed SVN for personal experience more than best fit. I started using SVN at work so it's good that I've got the experience, which is why I did it. I've also seen SVN/CVS as items on job postings, for things to know, so I figured it would be good to get comfortable with them.

 

[Bostonaholic]

Git is nice, I've looked into it before. I installed SVN for personal experience more than best fit. I started using SVN at work so it's good that I've got the experience, which is why I did it. I've also seen SVN/CVS as items on job postings, for things to know, so I figured it would be good to get comfortable with them.

I use SVN everyday at work so I am very familiar with it. Can I install Subversion locally and "commit" my code to a local repo? Looking into that right now, actually. Additionally, maybe in April when Ubuntu 10.04 comes out, I'll upgrade my desktop and use that as my web-accessible repo...

Until then, Git looks pretty cool-looking into that as well. What about Mercurial and/or Bazaar, anyone have any experience with either?

 

[splitpea]

I use SVN everyday at work so I am very familiar with it. Can I install Subversion locally and "commit" my code to a local repo? Looking into that right now, actually. Additionally, maybe in April when Ubuntu 10.04 comes out, I'll upgrade my desktop and use that as my web-accessible repo...

Yes. There are also a bunch of services out there that will host repositories for you for free.

Until then, Git looks pretty cool-looking into that as well. What about Mercurial and/or Bazaar, anyone have any experience with either?

My only experience with hg is being unable to install it. Haven't tried bzr. The only thing I really dislike about Git is the way it handles dependencies ("submodules", somewhat analogous to SVN's externals.) It takes a little getting used to if you're accustomed to SVN, but I like it.