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leperkuhn · May 28, 2004, 01:24 PM

Does anyone here use CVS for web development? Here is my scenario:
I have a desktop and a laptop, both of which I do work on. I have around a dozen sites that get worked on occasionally, some more often than others.

I'm currently just using rsyncx to sync the changes between the computers, but recently I've been thinking about setting up a CVS server. Does anyone have any experience with this? What are the advantages/disadvantages? I use BBEdit for all editing which I believe has CVS capabilities built in.

Also note that I've set up my computers with mysql/php and a custom hosts file so I can preview all my work. Can I maintain the same directory setup that I have right now and still use the CVS?

Is there a way to upload a file in CVS directly to the web server? As you can probably tell I've never used it, but I've heard a lot of good things so I think it's worth considering. (i'd like to avoid downloading the file from CVS then uploading, I just want 1 step.)

MadBrowser · May 28, 2004, 02:05 PM

Yes, it should be able to do all you want. It is sweet.

Great article:

http://rhea.redhat.com/asj/version-control/

Simon Mundy · May 29, 2004, 10:04 AM

Originally posted by leperkuhn:
Does anyone here use CVS for web development? Here is my scenario:
I have a desktop and a laptop, both of which I do work on. I have around a dozen sites that get worked on occasionally, some more often than others.

I'm currently just using rsyncx to sync the changes between the computers, but recently I've been thinking about setting up a CVS server. Does anyone have any experience with this? What are the advantages/disadvantages? I use BBEdit for all editing which I believe has CVS capabilities built in.

Also note that I've set up my computers with mysql/php and a custom hosts file so I can preview all my work. Can I maintain the same directory setup that I have right now and still use the CVS?

Is there a way to upload a file in CVS directly to the web server? As you can probably tell I've never used it, but I've heard a lot of good things so I think it's worth considering. (i'd like to avoid downloading the file from CVS then uploading, I just want 1 step.)

I didn't fully understand it 'til I dived in and started using it for a project that I'm sharing with another 3 developers.

It is a truly amazing piece of software.

The way I have it set up is that the CVS server is a remote linux box on a public IP address, but I can only SSH to that box to make changes. I use MacCVSClient Version 1.8.1 X but it's just as easy to use the terminal and make changes on the command line.

I develop my 'sandbox' site here on a networked computer so I can fully test it, then commit those changes to the live server every day or so. Because the other developers are also performing the same routine, I get their updates everytime I check in. This is probably a 'so what' post for those who use CVS, but I'm still in awe of how simple yet powerful this tool is for version control.

Reading the tutorials and documentation at cvs.org is a must, as are the many tutorials also available via a google search.

If you have any specific Qs about setting up, please ask and I'll help out where I can.

Sorry for the rambling post - just launched a site and have been celebrating in a very aggressive way

That Veuve Cliquot is a good drop. Hic.

philzilla · May 29, 2004, 10:45 AM

Originally posted by Simon Mundy:
Sorry for the rambling post - just launched a site and have been celebrating in a very aggressive way That Veuve Cliquot is a good drop. Hic.

hand it over, Mundy!

leperkuhn · Jun 8, 2004, 11:29 PM

Ok, I have CVS now. I'm setting up all the modules (different sites). Is there a way to get a list of the modules that are already set up my server? i realize i can get a folder list, but is there a bult in CVS command to do so?

Simon Mundy · Jun 9, 2004, 06:00 AM

Originally posted by leperkuhn:
Ok, I have CVS now. I'm setting up all the modules (different sites). Is there a way to get a list of the modules that are already set up my server? i realize i can get a folder list, but is there a bult in CVS command to do so?

Install Webmin on your development box, and it has a built-in CVS browser that can give you all the info you need on your projects without the headaches of installation.

Apart from that, there are several standalone CGI solutions (but I couldn't tell you their names off the top of my head) that would be trickier to install but just as effective.

In't CVS grand, eh?

leperkuhn · Jun 9, 2004, 07:01 PM

is there a CVS command to list the modules in a repository? or should it just be done over an SSH connection?

Simon Mundy · Jun 10, 2004, 08:18 AM

Originally posted by leperkuhn:
is there a CVS command to list the modules in a repository? or should it just be done over an SSH connection?

https://ccvs.cvshome.org/fom/cache/24.html

leperkuhn · Jun 14, 2004, 10:38 AM

another note: has anyone gotten CVL to work over SSH? it seems to have what I want but it doesn't list SSH as a method of connection. I tried putting in Other and using my CVSROOT

:ext:192.168.1.101:/Users/jhaddad/CVS

It might not have been that exactly, i'm at work right now and don't have my laptop. (but i have it working from the command line and I just copied the root variable over)

Arkham_c · Jun 14, 2004, 12:25 PM

Originally posted by leperkuhn:
another note: has anyone gotten CVL to work over SSH? it seems to have what I want but it doesn't list SSH as a method of connection. I tried putting in Other and using my CVSROOT

:ext:192.168.1.101:/Users/jhaddad/CVS

It might not have been that exactly, i'm at work right now and don't have my laptop. (but i have it working from the command line and I just copied the root variable over)

You just set the environment variable CVS_RSH=ssh and then CVS will automatically go through ssh. You don't even need the pserver with this option, which is a nice bonus, since pserver is completely insecure.

macvillage.net · Jun 14, 2004, 02:19 PM

Over at Mozdev the entire site is cvs based. I have a few projects there. Personally I find it to be a major pain in the butt.

If looking for alternatives to rsync, and ftp, I'd look at WebDAV and some scripts.

leperkuhn · Jun 14, 2004, 06:43 PM

yeah, i really like a lot of features of it, but it seems completely unfinished. to the point where I don't understand how so many things were completely overlooked, like a easy way to get a listing of the modules, adding directories to a repository (easily) and renaming existing directories.

i do like how it saves the revisions with comments, but getting at them doesn't seem obvious or easy to do. even the gui programs out there don't really deal with the problems well, leaving me to believe it's a problem with CVS itself.

what other alternatives are there?

Simon Mundy · Jun 14, 2004, 07:03 PM

Originally posted by leperkuhn:
another note: has anyone gotten CVL to work over SSH? it seems to have what I want but it doesn't list SSH as a method of connection. I tried putting in Other and using my CVSROOT

:ext:192.168.1.101:/Users/jhaddad/CVS

It might not have been that exactly, i'm at work right now and don't have my laptop. (but i have it working from the command line and I just copied the root variable over)

Very close - don't forget the username!

:ext:someusername@192.168.1.101:/Users/jhadded/CVS

leperkuhn · Jun 14, 2004, 11:46 PM

Originally posted by Simon Mundy:
Very close - don't forget the username!

:ext:someusername@192.168.1.101:/Users/jhadded/CVS

that was off the top of my head, i think it wasn't bad. I'm thinking that instead of CVS I could do everything in a development directory, with a nightly script automating a backup to another drive. That could get really huge though, so i could have another script removing older folders. I could use rsync to get / save changes made by my laptop / desktop. I guess it could work, but wouldn't be all badass. I really like the checkout/commit concepts.

Richard Edgar · Jun 15, 2004, 04:18 AM

yeah, i really like a lot of features of it, but it seems completely unfinished. to the point where I don't understand how so many things were completely overlooked, like a easy way to get a listing of the modules, adding directories to a repository (easily) and renaming existing directories.

i do like how it saves the revisions with comments, but getting at them doesn't seem obvious or easy to do. even the gui programs out there don't really deal with the problems well, leaving me to believe it's a problem with CVS itself.

Well, CVS is built on top of RCS, and RCS only knows about single files. That's the fundamental problem. CVS appears to be managing multiple files at once, but, as you've discovered, that's something of an appearance. However, it more or less works (especially once you know its limitations), and building something better would mean having something that works less well for a time (until said improvement could be debugged). So, it's going to stay like it is. I believe this is known as the Unix philosophy.

ameat · Jun 15, 2004, 07:29 AM

have you checked subversion out?

Simon Mundy · Jun 15, 2004, 08:02 AM

Originally posted by ameat:
have you checked subversion out?

OOH! CVS pun - nice one, centurion

leperkuhn · Jun 15, 2004, 09:46 AM

Originally posted by ameat:
have you checked subversion out?

Wow, I spent a few hours thinking about how I would like a repository set up, including a little bit of the implementation. Turns out that's what they are doing. Pretty sweet - do you know of a GUI for it?

Simon Mundy · Jun 15, 2004, 09:55 AM

Originally posted by leperkuhn:
Wow, I spent a few hours thinking about how I would like a repository set up, including a little bit of the implementation. Turns out that's what they are doing. Pretty sweet - do you know of a GUI for it?

Yeah, I'm going to try it tomorrow. The finder plugin at http://scplugin.tigris.org/ looks VERY cool.

leperkuhn · Jun 15, 2004, 10:28 AM

Originally posted by Simon Mundy:
Yeah, I'm going to try it tomorrow. The finder plugin at http://scplugin.tigris.org/ looks VERY cool.

That looks SICK. as in good. I'm posting this from work, so I have to wait till I get home. But subversion (at least, claims to) address most if not all of my complains with CVS. Bitchin.