[Hidden-tech] Version Control

[R. David Murray]

On Mon, 16 Mar 2009 at 12:24, Jan Werner wrote:
> There are many good version control systems for programmers, but they are 
> oriented toward managing multiple programmers working on a single project, 
> rather than for writers, artists or designers working alone on multiple 
> projects that are not usually plain text source code. They are nearly always 
> server based and can be difficult for non-programmers to set up and work 
> with.

Except for the statement that they are oriented primarily toward text,
the above is not really true, at least not anymore.  Version control
systems _can_ support multiple programmers, and include good facilities
to do so, but they are just as valuable if you are the only one coding
on a project or writing a text.  I use them that way all the time, and
would hate to have to do without :).  And as I said in another post,
modern distributed version control systems do not require a server.
(Even Subversion does not require a server, though the setup is a little
harder if you don't use a hosted server.)

Modern version control systems _do_ handle binary files as well as can be
done (ie: you can't diff a binary file, but you can track the versions
as monolithic blobs).

As Jan said, though, the advantages they provide for binary files over
a simple 'rename and track renamed versions' system is not nearly as
large as the advantages they provide for text based work.

Myself, I'd still probably use one for such work, because it would allow
me to track the state of the whole project on a revision basis, not just
the individual pieces.  But then I'm already familiar with them and know
how to set them up.

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