Frequently Asked Questions


Q: What is eSvn?
Q: What is subversion?
Q: Can I run eSvn on Windows?
Q: I want to contribute. What is the tool-chain used in development?
Q: What dependencies does eSvn have?
Q: What external diff tools can I use with eSvn?
Q: Command line subversion prompts for user and password, eSvn doesn't and I can't get access to my repository. How do I solve this?
Q: Can I 'bookmark' repositories like a web browser bookmarks pages, and associate a unique user-name and password with each bookmark?
Q:

What is eSvn?

A:

eSvn is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to the subversion revision management system.

Q:

What is subversion?

A:

Rather than explain it all over again here is a quote from a free book Version Control with Subversion.

 

"Subversion is a free/open-source version control system. That is, Subversion manages files and directories over time. A tree of files is placed into a central repository. The repository is much like an ordinary file server, except that it remembers every change ever made to your files and directories. This allows you to recover older versions of your data, or examine the history of how your data changed. In this regard, many people think of a version control system as a sort of "time machine".

Subversion can access its repository across networks, which allows it to be used by people on different computers. At some level, the ability for various people to modify and manage the same set of data from their respective locations fosters collaboration. Progress can occur more quickly without a single conduit through which all modifications must occur. And because the work is versioned, you need not fear that quality is the trade-off for losing that conduit—if some incorrect change is made to the data, just undo that change.

Some version control systems are also software configuration management (SCM) systems. These systems are specifically tailored to manage trees of source code, and have many features that are specific to software development—such as natively understanding programming languages, or supplying tools for building software. Subversion, however, is not one of these systems. It is a general system that can be used to manage any collection of files. For you, those files might be source code—for others, anything from grocery shopping lists to digital video mixdowns and beyond."

 
--Version Control with Subversion 

Q:

Can I run eSvn on Windows™?

A:

Yes. A Win32 version of eSvn is available as a binary build.

Q:

I want to contribute. What is the tool-chain used in development?

A:

The following tool chain is used in the development of eSvn:

  • GCC - 3.3.3

  • QT - 3.3

  • Visual SlickEdit, KDevelop3

  • Debug - gdb (kdbg), ddd

The following tool chain is used in the development of eSvn documentation:

  • Docbook XML

  • Editor - Any XML Editor can be used.

  • Parser - Xerces-J

  • XSLT Processor - Saxon or Xalan

  • FO Processor - FOP

Q:

What dependencies does eSvn have?

A:

eSvn is dependent on the following:

Qt3

Qt is a program library for developing applications with graphical user interfaces. It allows you to rapidly develop professional programs. The Qt library is available not only for Linux but for a great number of Unixes and even for Windows. Thus it is possible to write programs that may be easily ported to those platforms.

qt3-devel

You need this package If you want to compile programs with Qt 3. It contains the "Qt Cross platform Development Kit 2". Under /usr/lib/qt3 you will find include files, documentation, precompiled examples, and a tutorial for getting started with Qt. You need a license for using Qt with a non-GPL application. A license can be acquired at . Authors: -------- Troll Tech AS, Norway

subversion

Subversion does the same thing CVS does (Concurrent Versioning System) but has major enhancements compared to CVS ( see http://subversion.tigris.org).

Q:

What external diff tools can I use with eSvn?

A:

Following is a list of diff applications that can be used.

kdiff3

KDiff3 is a program that compares or merges two or three text input files or directories, showing the differences line by line and character by character. KDiff3 provides an automatic merge-facility and an integrated editor for comfortable solving of merge-conflicts. The program also supports KIO on KDE (allows accessing ftp, sftp, fish, smb etc.), and has an intuitive graphical user interface. More information and downloads are available from the KDiff3 Web Site.

Kompare

Kompare is a KDE frontend to the Open Source diff application. Kompare is shipped as part of the KDE SDK. More information is available from the KDE Web Site.

xxdiff

xxdiff is a graphical file and directories comparator and merge tool. xxdiff is useful for comparing two files, three files, or two directories (shallow and recursive). It provides horizontal diffs highlighting and files can be merged interactively with visualization and saving of the resulting output. xxdiff has features to assist in performing merge reviews/policing and can unmerge CVS conflicts in automatically merged file and display them as two files, to help resolve conflicts. xxdiff uses external diff programs to compute differences: works with GNU diff, SGI diff and ClearCase's cleardiff, and any other similar diff tools. More information and downloads can be found at the xxdiff Web Site.

TkDiff

TkDiff is a graphical front end to the diff program. It provides a side-by-side view of the differences between two files, along with several innovative features such as diff bookmarks and a graphical map of differences for quick navigation. More information and download can be found on the TkDiff Web Site.

GTKdiff

GTKdiff is a graphical diff tool. It has diff3 and merge features. It's written with GTK+. After gtkdiff-0.8.0, it requires GNOME. More information and download can be found the GTKdiff Web Site.

Meld

Meld is a visual diff and merge tool. It integrates especially well with CVS. The diff viewer lets you edit files in place (diffs update dynamically), and a middle column shows detailed changes and allows merges. The margins show location of changes for easy navigation, and it also features a tabbed interface that allows you to open many diffs at once. More information and download can be found the Meld Web Site.

ExamDiff

ExamDiff Pro is a powerful yet intuitive and easy to use visual file and directory comparison tool for Windows. It features unique functionality that distinguishes ExamDiff Pro from other comparison programs. If you used WinDiff or UNIX diff before, you will find that ExamDiff Pro offers much more efficient and user-friendly way to compare files and folders. More information and download can be found the PrestoSoft the developers of ExamDiff.

Q:

Command line subversion prompts for user and password, eSvn doesn't and I can't get access to my repository. How do I solve this?

A:

Use the File->Options dialog to specify a user-name and password.

Q:

Can I 'bookmark' repositories like a web browser bookmarks pages, and associate a unique user-name and password with each bookmark?

A:

Yes and no. Instead of 'bookmarks' eSvn uses the other concept - 'workspaces'. Authentication details are stored together with each workspace so you don't need to save this information for each repository. For more details see the eSvn documentation.