SVN on Windows
Sorry if this is not the case "SO'-ish" ---
I have a technology friend who is learning about version control for their documents and documents. I advised her to check out TortioseSVN or something like M $ -flavor of Git for local version control. However, she's worried about what happens if the file gets corrupted ... I obviously don't use Windows and have never had a problem with file corruption on OS or Linux computers. Has anyone ever encountered problems using VC and file corruption?
EDIT: I should clarify ... I don't mean that VC causes corruption, just wondering how VC applications handle file corruption.
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I had subversive corrupt repositories. However, I should note that this was: a) in much earlier versions, and b) I was doing some interesting, "interesting" administration stuff in the repos (trying to pull some of the repos into new repos), so it could very well be my mistake.
However, I find it pretty safe; I transfer a lot of important stuff to my repos.
One thing that points to her is that if she is worried, she can always do multiple checks. If she has a second check that she just updates once a day, after confirming that her main check is in order, there must be a true disaster and corruption of both the repo and her working check, she got a good copy of her document in another checkout.
However, daily repo backups are good for many reasons.
I would also like to point out that with a bit of training and support, non-techies usually have no problem with Subversion. I taught people who had trouble with Excel how to use Subversion, and after a couple of weeks they were happy to use it on their own.
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I'm not sure if I'm following your concern.
If the file gets corrupted between checkout and checkout, you will obviously see it in the diff, and you still have a complete history.
Not asking SVN to wonder if your file is corrupted - and what is the definition of corruption in relation to SVN?
However, there may be errors specific to Windows, but in my experience none of them damage files, at least I have never had one damaged. I often have post-commit issues that I have to solve with svn flushing or deleting and checking the directory again, but again, none of them mutate.
All software has bugs - the question is whether they are serious, unquestionable. SVN quality control is not bad, but you never know.
BTW, I highly recommend SmartSVN for the client. It is far superior to Tortoise, albeit a little slower and written in Java. There is nothing that gives me better control over my repos, although TortoiseSVN doesn't even compare.
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I've been using SVN for several years and have never corrupted the file. Just make a regular backup plan for the repository if you're worried about corruption. Also have a look at this blog http://newgeeks.blogspot.com/2006/08/word-document-management-using-svn.html
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Using SVN and regularly committing is a great way to reduce file corruption - if your file is corrupted (as I would not know), just rollback to the latest non-corruption version.
SVN doesn't work that well with binaries (like word docs) in that it saves a whole new copy, not a delta, but it's not as if you are talking about large volumes of information or something that's fine.
SVN has a bit of a learning curve, although you may have to tweak it for it.
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