Simple single user revision control

Question

Hi, I work alone on various pet projects. I program them in different places (at home, at work..).

I'd like the simples tool to help my workflow, something in between a basic revision control system and a sync tool.

For this small projects I just work on different directories (for versions) and email myself zips (for syncing the work done at home with the work done in other places).

I've considered using TartoiseSvn, but even it seems a bit overkill plus it doesn't solve the problem of working from different places.

I think this is a problem common to many "one man" projects. Any software / service suggestion?

Thanks

Answer 1

I use a system like Assembla to keep my Subversion repositories offsite, and then use TortoiseSVN to keep projects in sync on multiple systems. I also run a full SVN server at home which I keep private paid for projects on. I tend to move between my Mac and my home PC regularly for development and find this the simplest way to keep the files in sync, and at the same time providing and external backup.

Answer 2

Do you have a server you'd have access to from everywhere? If so, just put subversion on there. Or use github or something similar. Pretty much any version control system which can talk between different machines over the net should be fine, IMO.

I don't think I'd call Subversion "overkill" - it's pretty simple, easy to run, and there are good Windows clients for it.

In terms of hosting, if you're happy for it to be an open source project, then there are any number of places which you could use - Google Code, SourceForge, github, CodePlex etc.

Answer 3

for this purpose I like using mercurial since it requires no time consuming setups (e.g. svn requires a server somewhere).

Answer 4

I would say "TortoiseSVN" is a good choice, better than no source control software at all

Answer 5

You should have a look at XP Dev (www.xp-dev.com). Sorry the link isn't showing up in the WYSIWYG editor.

it's an online Repository hosting solution which offers a good range of project management tools....all free.

Answer 6

I suggest Mercurial. I used to use Subversion, but it is tedious, especially if don't have Internet access at all times.

Answer 7

I agree with others SVN does solve the problem of working in multiple places. However, like dfa I prefer Mercurial (hg) for this, because then I don't have to choose one master location/server (or do server setup).

Answer 8

Git is a fine solution for version control, suitable for scales of project all the way from single user to the Linux kernel (and beyond). I use Git for all my personal projects, and can easily work in multiple places and merge the repositories later.

With the use of a common web-accessible repository like Github, working in multiple places becomes even easier.

Answer 9

I would recommend you one of the distributed version controls out there, like mercurial, git, bazaar, monotone and so on. working on different folders for different versions is just what their branching is ideal for - you can merge every branch with every branch if you wish to.

just throw an eye upon them.

Answer 10

I personally use Mercurial. I prefer it over subversion because:

• I don't need a server per-se
• I can have local commits, which is very useful when you're working on several machines

Answer 11

Using Mercurial, how can I then sync the work done on multiple machines?

Answer 12

I'd go for Bazaar personally, I've just started using this at home for personal projects and it's really simple to use.

Answer 13

I would recommend using Bazaar, and if you don't like a fancy console you can use Bazaar Olive.

I don't know how I got it installed but I also have Tortoise Bazaar, which allows me to work with lower end version control servers :)

Answer 14

SourceGear Vault is a popular windows-based version control system. Pretty easy to set up, but you do need a windows machine acting as a server.

For single users, it's free.

Answer 15

why not use something like sourceforge.net ?