The main difference between CVS and SVN is that the CVS is a free, client-server based version controlling system while SVN is an advanced and newer software version controlling system than CVS.
Version controlling is not essential for small programs, but it is necessary for handling large, complex enterprise applications. It saves changes made to the source code and related files. The changes made are stored as version, and the developers get a complete overview of the current and the previous states. CVS and SVN are two such version control systems used in software development.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is CVS
-Definition, Functionality
2. What is SVN
-Definition, Functionality
3. Difference Between CVS and SVN
-Comparison of key differences
Key Terms
CVS, SVN, Version Control Systems
What is CVS
CVS stands for Concurrent Versions System. It is a free version control system. It saves the changes made to the files. Therefore, the developer can compare the versions. It allows multiple developers to work on the same project simultaneously. Also, this improves collaboration among the team members.
Moreover, CVS works according to a client-server architecture. A server stores the current and the previous versions of the project. The client can connect to the server and get a complete copy of the project and work on it. LAN or internet helps to connect the client and server. When there are only local developers, the client and server both may be on the same machine. Usually, the server runs on UNIX and clients runs on OS platforms such as Windows, Linux, etc.
Furthermore, with CVS, a developer can make changes in his working copy and send it to the server. Clients can use the update command to update their local copies with the newest version available on the server. Therefore, it is not necessary to download the whole project always. Also, it maintains the branches of the project. Besides, there is delta compression that helps the efficient storage of different versions of the same file.
What is SVN
SVN is the abbreviation for Apache Subversion. It is a distributed software versioning control system. It allows the developers to make changes to the code and to maintain current and previous versions of files like source code, web pages and documents. SVN is used by various projects such as Apache Software Foundation, Free Pascal, GCC, and SourceForge.
SVN contains various features. It allows renaming, copying, moving, removing files to retain full revision history. It provides native support for binary files. There is language binding for languages such as C#, Java, Python, Perl and Ruby. SVN has a “merge tracking” feature to perform tracking and merging of branches.
SVN allows three types of repository storage. They are as follows.
Berkeley DB (deprecated) – The original SVN development used this package. There are some limitations with Berkeley DB usage. When a program access a database, the program might crash or terminate. There is no data loss. However, the repository remains offline while Berkeley DB replays the journal and cleans up any outstanding locks. Using a single server process running as a single user allows using SVN with a Berkeley DB repository safely.
FSFS – This repository works faster than Berkeley DB backend on directories with a large number of files. It has less logging. Therefore, it takes minimum disk space. From SVN 1.2, FSFC is the default data store for new repositories. It stores the content directly within the file system of the OS.
FSX – It is a newer version to FSFS, and it is used as an alternative to some limitations of FSFS.
Difference Between CVS and SVN
Definition
CVS is a free, client-server version control system in the field of software development. In contrast, SVN is a software versioning control system distributed as open source under the Apache License. Thus, this is the main difference between CVS and SVN.
Developer
CVS was developed by the CVS Team while SVN was developed by Apache Software Foundation.
Stands for
Also, CVS stands for Concurrent Versions System whereas SVN stands for Apache Subversion.
Initial Release
CVS was initially released in 1990 while SVN was initially released in 2000.
License
Besides, CVS has the GNU General Public License, whereas SVN is the Apache License 2.0. Hence, this is also a difference between CVS and SVN.
Atomic commits
Moreover, CVS does not support atomic commits. But, SVN supports atomic commits.
Renaming and moving
Also, another difference between CVS and SVN is that CVS does not allow renaming and moving while SVN allows renaming and moving.
Network protocols
Furthermore, CVS support SSH, whereas SVN supports HTTP and HTTPS.
Conclusion
CVS and SVN are two such version control systems used in software development. The main difference between CVS and SVN is that the CVS is a free, client-server based version controlling system while SVN is an advanced and newer software version controlling system than CVS.
References:
1.“Apache Subversion.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 May 2019 via Commons Wikimedia
2.“Concurrent Versions System.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Jan. 2019 via Commons Wikimedia
Image Courtesy:
1.”SVN Server Client Structure with Repository” via By L.palm – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimeida
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