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C
HAPTER
6
Introduction to CVS
he Concurrent Versions System, or CVS, is a source code control
application that permits developers to work in parallel on software
development projects without the fear of overwriting someone else’s
work. In addition, it provides a complete project history that includes the
ability to review previous versions of the code, and to compare old code
with new code.
CVS can be used for any development project, including assembly and
machine language to C and C++ and even the code and images necessary
to maintain a web site.
The source code is set up in a software repository by the administrator.
Each repository is identified by a unique location. A repository may be
on a local machine or maintained on the network and accessed remotely.
Many Open Source developers utilize anonymous CVS access in order
to distribute development snapshots of the source code instead of (or in
addition to) tarballs, RPM and other methods of distribution. Each
repository many contain multiple projects and many versions of each
project. The current version of a project may be checked out, as may
older versions. Versions may also be compared to one another to deter-
mine specific changes and help to identify bugs that may have crept into
a piece of software.
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