CVS is the Concurrent Versions System, a file revision control system. It works nicely for distributed development, but is weak in branching and merging. It's by far the most popular version control system in the Open Source world, and is probably second only to MS source safe overall.

http://www.cvshome.org/ - the CVS home page

http://www.tortoisecvs.org/ - a very easy-to-use interface for Windows machines. Works by plugging into the Windows file manager, a really slick implementation.

Branching

Here are some tips that make branch management easier.

• Build your branches from a label (I usually name it "Root_Branch_Name"). This allows you to test the code that you'll branch from to make sure you're at a good starting point before you make the branch.
• If you plan to merge the branch back onto the trunk then you'll want another label to indicate the point at which you did the merge. This prevents merge conflicts if you need to merge from the branch several times, since CVS doesn't track what you've already merged.
• Branch Protocol
  • Apply the "Root" label to the head of the trunk: cvs tag Root_Example_Branch
  • Check out a copy of the code from that label, build, test, etc.
  • Apply the branch label to the Root: cvs tag -r Root_Example_Branch -b Example_Branch
• Remember to do as little work as possible on branches, especially if you expect to merge back to the trunk. Resist the temptation to refactor or "improve" as you go because you'll make merge conflicts more likely if you don't. Make a note of your ideas for improvements and apply them to the trunk after the merge.

-- TobyCabot - 03 Apr 2003