[development] FAQ: Why is Drupal still using CVS when X is a much better choice?

[Steve Scotten]

On Aug 5, 2008, at 11:33 AM, Earl Miles wrote:

> Steve Scotten wrote:
>> Bottom line: I have no desire to become any sort of expert or even  
>> semiexpert in version control. I want version control to be a tool  
>> subservient to my needs rather than a black hole sucking up my  
>> time, attention, and overtaxed brain cells.
>
> You only need three commands:
>
> cvs checkout
> cvs commit
> cvs tag
>
> You'll need pretty much the same commands with an svn system as  
> well. If this is difficult it is only because you're making it so.

Well, no, I also have to read up on creating the config files, define  
environment variables and anything else I need to do to get the CVS  
client to speak to another CVS server, since

cvs --help checkout
Usage:
   cvs checkout [-ANPRcflnps] [-r rev] [-D date] [-d dir]
     [-j rev1] [-j rev2] [-k kopt] modules...

doesn't mention servernames or addresses anywhere. I don't remember  
what CVSROOT specifies and I think that's *probably* important  
information to know. Call me silly.

That's assuming that the version I have (1.12.13) is compatible with  
the version we're using around here. It's dated 2005, so I'm guessing  
the odds are about 60/40 in favor.

I'm not saying any of this is insurmountable. I've learned CVS three  
times already, I'm sure I can relearn it and it probably won't get me  
all confused with my SVN commands. I'm not *quite* that braindead. But  
it's still like interviewing for a job and finding out that I'd be  
required to use edlin to write my code. Yeah, it can be done, and  
edlin uses a small set of easy to remember commands, right? I'd still  
have to be pretty desperate to take such a job. (it was bad enough  
working for a place where vi was the only permitted development tool).

It's not about me and I'm not pretending that this is a dealbreaker or  
should be the only consideration. It's just two facts to consider out  
of many: A CVS user can pick up SVN a lot more easily than an SVN user  
can pick up CVS, and SVN is the more useful skillset in the job market  
nowadays. If these are truly irrelevant, accept my apologies for  
piping up.


Steve