configuration files in version control while deploying

Question

I have a particular problem with config files and deployment. When I deploy my project, it eventually moves to two different branches: staging and production (using SVN here)

I make the branch from my local working copy of the project. What this ends up doing is overwriting staging and development's copy of the config files, so I manually have to go in and make the correct changes every time I deploy.

Does it make sense to delete the config files from SVN completely since it's set in stone? Or is there another way in doing this?

Answer 1

What I usually do is maintain multiple configuration files in the repository, but not under the actual name (e.g. in a dedicated folder that gets excluded from deployment). My deployment scripts then copy the appropriate config file into the final location. So my deployment routine goes:

• checkout
• compile
• run deployment script