How to Install and Use Subversion (SVN) on Ubuntu

Subversion, commonly abbreviated as SVN, is a popular version control system used for tracking and managing changes to files and directories. It allows multiple people to work on a project simultaneously and keeps a history of all file modifications, enabling easy collaboration and reverting back to previous versions if needed. Here's how you can install and use Subversion on Ubuntu 22.04.

Step 1: Install Subversion

To install Subversion, open a terminal and run the following command:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install subversion

Step 2: Set Up a Repository

Before you can start using Subversion, you need to create a repository to store your project files. Navigate to the desired directory where you want to create the repository, and run the following command:

svnadmin create myrepository

This will create a new directory called "myrepository" which will be your repository.

Step 3: Import Files to the Repository

Once the repository is created, you can import files and directories into it. Navigate to the location of your project files and run the following command:

svn import . file:///path/to/myrepository -m "Initial import"

This will import all the files and directories into the repository.

Step 4: Checking Out a Working Copy

To begin working with the files in your repository, you need to check out a working copy onto your local machine. Run the following command in the directory where you want to check out the files:

svn checkout file:///path/to/myrepository

This will create a local copy of the repository files on your machine.

Step 5: Making Changes and Committing

Now that you have a working copy, you can make changes to your files. To see the status of your files, run:

svn status

This will show any modifications or additions you have made. To commit your changes back to the repository, use:

svn commit -m "Message describing the changes"

Your changes will be saved in the repository with the provided commit message.

Step 6: Updating and Resolving Conflicts

If other team members have made changes to the repository, you can update your working copy to reflect those changes by running:

svn update

If conflicts occur between your local changes and the updates from the repository, you will need to resolve them manually. SVN will mark the conflicted files, and you can use tools like "svn resolve" or a visual merge tool to handle the conflicts.

Step 7: Viewing Repository History

To view the history of your repository, you can use the "svn log" command:

svn log

This will display a list of all the commits made to the repository along with their commit messages.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and started using Subversion (SVN) on Ubuntu 22.04.