The Concurrent Versions System: CVS

The Concurrent Versions System (CVS) is a software development method that allows developers from remote locations to work on software stored on a central server. CVS allows several developers to work on a file at the same time. This means that CVS supports parallel development, so programmers around the world can work on the same task at the same time through a simple Internet connection. It has become popular among Linux developers as a means of creating software using the Internet. CVS is also the source for the most up-to-date versions for different software. Ongoing projects like KDE and GNOME use CVS servers to post the most recent versions of their desktop applications, primarily because it is easy to use for program development over the Internet. The sourceforge.net site provides a CVS repository for many ongoing Linux Projects. Many CVS sites now support ViewCVS (an enhanced version of WebCVS), a Web browser front end to a CVS repository that lets you browse and select software versions easily. You can find out more about CVS from www.cvshome.org.

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You can also use CVS GUI clients on GNOME and KDE, along with ViewCVS, to manage to your CVS repositories or access those on the Internet. For GNOME, you can use Pharmacy, and for KDE, you can use Cervisia or LinCVS.

Using a CVS repository for software development involves procedures for accessing a software version, making your changes locally on your system, and then uploading your changed version back to the CVS repository. In effect, you check out software, make your changes in such a way that they are carefully recorded, and then check your version back in to the repository. CVS was originally developed as a front end to the older Revision Control System (RCS) and shares many of the same commands.