Hello Fabrice,
we are using free Bazaar for large projects (Windows environment).
Can't say that it is perfect in every aspect, but it does everything
you may want from it.
http://bazaar-vcs.org/
https://launchpad.net/tortoisebzr
https://launchpad.net/bazaar
Best regards, Sergiy Radyakin
On Fri, Apr 10, 2009 at 11:50 AM, Phil Schumm <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Apr 9, 2009, at 1:50 PM, Fabrice wrote:
>>
>> I'm considering options to put structure into developing shared code in
>> Stata. Currently, we already share code by using the ADO directory
>> mechanism, that is very fine (i.e. putting into a shared ado directory files
>> code that everyone else can use).
>>
>> However, we start encountering problems whereby two people are modifying
>> the same file concurrently, or worse, one erasing someone's else work.
>>
>> This is a typical case where a version control system is required and I
>> wonder if anyone has anything to recommend. Note1: The environment is
>> windows. Note2: version control for stata development should not be confused
>> with "version control" in stata, which only alludes to the idea that Stata
>> allows to enforce the version of the system under which the code is run.
>>
>> I've looked on the web, and found hints that Emacs that would a) interface
>> with Stata and b) provide some version control system. Yet, I wonder if that
>> works smoothly and is worth the effort.
>>
>> What is your experience on that matter? Has anyone found anything elegant
>> (i.e. simple) to manage this under windows?
>
>
> As you may be aware, there are many version control systems (VCS) out there
> (e.g., see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_revision_control_software),
> and some of the best ones are open source. The hot thing in version control
> right now is "distributed" version control, a well-known exemplar of which
> is Git (http://git-scm.com/). The Linux kernel is developed in Git (which,
> BTW, was initially designed by Linus Torvalds for this purpose), and GitHub
> (http://github.com/) is developing quite a following.
>
> Personally, we use Subversion (http://subversion.tigris.org/), which follows
> more of a client-server model than a distributed model. However, there are
> a lot of things I like about Subversion, and it suits our needs well. A lot
> of open-source software projects use Subversion, though some have now
> switched over to Git (and still others use one of the many other distributed
> VCSs). Subversion began life as a re-conceptualization of an earlier VCS
> called Concurrent Versions System (CVS). Many years ago, CVS was just about
> the only non-commercial system available, and it was therefore ubiquitous.
> In fact, many people continue to use it today. CVS had quite a few warts,
> and was (IMO) painful to use. Subversion addressed these issues, and, in
> contrast, is quite easy to use.
>
> I don't want to start a debate over the merits of Subversion versus Git (or
> any other system); if you want to read more on this, Google will be happy to
> oblige. I will, however, share with you a couple of the reasons why
> Subversion works so well for us.
>
> One reason is that it is very easy to set up and administer, and has a very
> small footprint. For example, Subversion comes pre-installed on OS X, is
> easy to install using the appropriate package installer under Linux, and a
> double-click installer is available for Windows. After that, all you need
> is
>
> svnadmin create foo
>
> to create a new repository called foo. The repository is then a stand-alone
> directory, and can be moved around and backed up just as you do with other
> files on your filesystem. Configuring behavior like email notifications on
> commits, restricting permissions, etc. are all very easy to do. And, the
> entire repository can be dumped to a file which can then be edited with a
> file editor, if necessary. Very straightforward and intuitive. At the same
> time, it scales very well (i.e., large repositories and/or many users).
>
> A second reason is that Subversion is easy to use. Of course, I say this as
> someone who programs and used to use CVS. A better testament to its
> ease-of-use is the fact that we have had a lot of success in getting
> non-programmers (e.g., researchers, study coordinators, etc.) who have never
> used a VCS to use it. We typically spend about 1 hour giving an
> introduction/tutorial, and, after that, they're ready to go. As a result,
> we are able to use Subversion to manage not only our internal code, but also
> the data manipulation, analyses, and even administrative documents for
> several large research projects. This permits the researchers on those
> projects to collaborate in ways that they could not do otherwise, and
> facilitates reproducibility.
>
> Finally, although our programmers all use Unix/Linux, most of our "users"
> use Windows. Fortunately, there's a wonderful Windows application
> (implemented as a Windows shell extension) called TortoiseSVN
> (http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/) which allows Windows users to access all
> the features of Subversion via menu items integrated into the standard
> Windows contextual (i.e., right-click) menus. TortoiseSVN is probably the
> biggest reason for our success in getting non-programmers to use version
> control.
>
> The canonical reference on Subversion is the book written by
> Collins-Sussman, Fitzpatrick and Pilato, which is freely available over the
> web (http://svnbook.red-bean.com/). Note, however, that like the Stata
> reference manuals, all of the examples are illustrated at the command line.
> Thus, Windows users might prefer to start by reading the documentation that
> comes with TortoiseSVN, which is excellent.
>
> In sum, if you want, you should definitely spend some time researching a few
> different systems. However, if the capabilities provided by Subversion are
> adequate for your needs, I'd heartily recommend it. And, in case you ever
> decide you want to switch to Git in the future, it's easy to convert your
> Subversion repositories.
>
>
> -- Phil
>
> *
> * For searches and help try:
> * http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search
> * http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
> * http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/
>
*
* For searches and help try:
* http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search
* http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
* http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/
