Given a situation where there are three branches, A, B and C, where A is merged to both B and C on a regular basis. From time to time B is merged to C. With Subversion, B apparently must be removed and recreated after every merge to C. This raises groans from colleagues, but would any alternative do any better? It would seem to me that Mercurial would not. Perhaps Git?
Does anyone else run into this problem?
You should be able to do this with Subversion without any problems. It is probably easier to learn Subversion in detail than setting your project with a new version control system. Here is a good guide:
http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.5/svn.branchmerge.html
I recommend you try and merge your branches as often as possible, this will minimize the complexity and the problems that arise if you wait too long before you merge. Continuous integration(CI) is key to avoid problems and make merges easier.
Good luck!
Git and Mecurial are both much more advanced with merging than what subversion can provide. If you really want to make the merging simple with concurrent development, consider using a Git or Mercurial.
Once I made the switch, there was no going back. My current project has many concurrent streams of development, all simply managed thanks to Git.