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Subversion

If there is something that has gained its place in my personal Software Hall of Fame, it is Subversion, which is an open source version control software, and added, TortoiseSVN, which is a perfectly working Windows Frontend.

Ever since I worked on the first project where I had to collaborate with others, I began to view Subversion as "essential" as opposed to "nice to have"; I went as far to even put one man projects of myself under version control. Not to speak of my main library, for which I have rented external subversion space to be able to reach it from anywhere. While Subversion is obviously a must when working as a team, it is terribly practical even when working alone. No more "which version is newer" or "what have I changed" or "oh, I must not forget to copy the bug fix I made here back to the core library". No. Subversion does that for me. It also gives me a sense of security, since I can do the most stupid tests and be able to see how I messed up and revert everything with the touch of a button.

For a single worker, the most compelling feature surely is "time travel". Subversion adds another dimension to every file, which is time. I can go back to any step at any time. Even if I had a very professional backup strategy with burning my files on CD-ROMS/DVDs every evening, I would find it hard to actually go back to a certain step, not speaking of a growing pile of DVDs in my room. Subversion does that for me, and as long as I keep the repository backupped, I can go back to any revision I've made.

Which is also interesting as it gives me a glimpse of how my project developed over time, which files I moved, added and modified, which concepts arose out of my sicko mind and which of them survived the test of time. Also, as I can comment changes, I can place notes for my future self explaining why I changed certain things.

So its definitely worth looking into collaboration software even when you're only up against your good alter ego.

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