An Introduction to
Using Version Control
with Drupal


Kathleen Murtagh
Design 4 Drupal -- June 14, 2009

Why use Version Control?

Constant backup of your project

Full history of your project's development

Reuse code that was previously removed

Remove changes that caused bugs

Enable collaborative development

Easier deployment to production

Typical Workflow

Make your changes

Review your edits

Commit

Rinse and Repeat!

Commits are Patches

Multiple developers can work on the same file

View Your Commit History

See your coworker's work

Understand the rational behind changes

Recapture a block of code that was removed

Change Versions of your Code

(Don't be scared of this command line screen shot. I'll show you the graphical apps later)Test previous versions of your project

Find the commit that caused a bug

Remove Commits

Find the commit that caused a bug

Revert the commit in whole or in part

???

Profit!

...

Branching and Tagging

BranchesFork code to allow independent development

A Working branch for significant feature changes

Create new or different versions of a project

Branching and Tagging

TagsSnapshots that are not intended to be modified

Record significant momentsReleases, Stable versions, Testing results, etc

The Version Control Systems

Centralized RepositorySVN (Subversion)

CVS (Concurrent Versions System)

Notable FeaturesAll branches and tags are shared

Linear development

The Version Control Systems

Decentralized RepositoryGit

Bazaar

Notable FeaturesOffline development

Enables shared and personal branches and tags

Sophisticated merging

More complicated

Front-end Tools for Subversion

WindowsTortoiseSVN

MacVersions

Cross platformSmartSVN

RapidSVN

It would be advantageous to your career as a web developer to learn the command line, though!

TortoiseSVN (Windows)

Versions (Mac)

SmartSVN

RapidSVN

Start Using Subversion

Start with version controlling your theme

Think about the database problem later

Set Up Subversion

Set up a repository

Use a service to manage your repo

Setup a repo with your web host

Install Subversion on your server

Install the SVN client

If you develop on a remote server, install it thereYour remote server may already have it installed!

If you develop locally, install it on your computer

Start Using Your Repository

Experiment with interface options to find what you like the best

Import your theme into the repository

Checkout your theme into the themes directory

Start making changes and committing

Keep Learning.