[Hidden-tech] Version Control

[R. David Murray]

On Sat, 14 Mar 2009 at 15:00, Susanna Opper wrote:
> I write content for Web sites, among other things. I'm about to begin the
> copy writing part of a major project and wonder how others deal with version
> control. I have always used a process of renaming files v1, v2 etc. It
> works, but it's not elegant.
> 
> Has anyone found a better way? I assume developers deal with this issue,
> too. So eager to have comments from all.

I use a version control system, myself.  BZR (AKA Bazaar) is my current
favorite.  With a version control system you "check in" changes after you
make them, and the system tracks the results, allowing you see differences
between the current version and any earlier version, and to restore your
working copy to any earlier version at will.  There are version control
systems with windows GUI clients.  They work best on text files, but most
can handle binary files (eg: images) as well when it comes to save/restore
(but not viewing differences, obviously).  They were originally designed,
and are mostly used, for tracking changes during software development,
but the source code to web pages is a close analog to software source
code so I find they work well for me for web site maintenance as well.
I also use version control to track my written documents; but, then,
I write text files, not Word docs.

--
R. David Murray           http://www.bitdance.com