Where can I learn the pros and cons of the various Source Control systems available?

Question

I want to compare and contrast the various source control systems out there. Any good references?

Answer 1

Understanding Version-Control Systems by Eric Raymond: http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/version-control/version-control.html

Answer 2

Some python core developers have recently begun putting together a document which illustrates various work flows that compare and contrast working with hg, bzr, git and svn.

Answer 3

Version control systems for Linux: http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Apps/vcs.html

Answer 4

Here's a comparison of numerous SCMs: http://better-scm.berlios.de/comparison/comparison.html

Answer 5

You might want a theoretical framework for comparing them. It shows most product comparisons (especially those in the named links) are rather incomplete. There is a 5 dimensional model for this:

• version (wanting to change)
• status (life cycle: creating, testing, deploy, retire)
• view (source, architecture, deployment, derivability)
• hierarchy (module, class, method)
• variant (largely similar, describing the differences, product families)

Most systems only handle a few of these dimensions. To handle all five, you have to describe (fix) your development process.

The reference:

Managing design data: the five dimensions of CAD frameworks,configuration management, and product data management. van den Hamer, P. Lepoeter, K.
Philips Res., Eindhoven;

This paper appears in: Proceedings of the IEEE Publication Date: Jan 1996 Volume: 84, Issue: 1 On page(s): 42-56 ISSN: 0018-9219 References Cited: 26 CODEN: IEEPAD INSPEC Accession Number: 5175049 Digital Object Identifier: 10.1109/5.476025 Current Version Published: 2002-08-06

Answer 6

Wikipedia has a nice article on this: