Curious about SCM choice

[Doug Barton]

Milo Hyson wrote:
> I apologize in advance if I have the wrong list for this, but it didn't 
> really look like anywhere else was more appropriate.
> 
> I'm curious about the reasons for FreeBSD adopting Subversion over the 
> other candidate systems. I've read the pages discussing the pros and 
> cons, but haven't found anything discussing the ultimate deciding 
> factors. I ask not because I disagree with the decision, but because my 
> company is currently facing a similar situation. We currently use 
> Subversion but there is some interest in other tools. Understanding what 
> "tipped the scales" as it were could prove valuable in our own decision 
> making.

I am NOT the expert on this, but I'll try to give you something to chew 
on (in no particular order) until someone smarter speaks up. :)

1. It's better to start collecting meta-data (change sets, merge info, 
etc.) sooner than later.
2. Of the systems available at this point, subversion is the easiest to 
export _from_. Which is to say, if we decide to use something else later 
on down the road it will be easier to migrate the repository from 
subversion to $NEWTHING. It's also possible to use frontends like git 
and Hg with subversion now, so people who really like those systems can 
have a comfortable environment to work in.
3. Subversion is close enough to cvs to give old farts like me less 
stress over the change.
4. Most of the other VCS' focus heavily on the idea of "distributed" 
operation, which doesn't really fit our development model.


hth,

Doug

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