ASP.NET SVN source control confusion. What do I need to get up and running

Question

I've very new and confused about source control and what all these software/plugins accomplish. I'm testing out beanstalkapp for SVN. What does TortoiseSVN do for me and do I need it? Also I saw a couple plugins that work directly with VS 2010: AnkhSVN and VisualSVN. If I use either of these do I still need to have Tortoise installed?

Thanks for the help. I need some clarity.

Answer 1

I prefer AnkhSVN. It's easy to install and use, and integrates into Visual Studio very nicely (almost like TFS, but free).

TortoiseSVN is one of the tools you can use to look up file diff and merge code. TortoiseSVN is a separate program that is configured within the AnkhSVN plug-in in Visual Studio. Here's a screen shot of where in Visual Studio options you would configure it:

Also, if you need a free, private, online repository, I would recommend unfuddle . AnkhSVN links into it very nicely. I use this setup of AnkhSVN/unfuddle/TortoiseSVN for several personal projects.

Answer 2

Here is a great tutorial on my favorite VCS, Mercurial. I highly recommend it http://hginit.com/

But, if you really want to get started with SVN I recommend reading The Subversion Book. It's free! http://svnbook.red-bean.com/

TortoiseSVN and TortoiseHg(the Mercurial one) give you a nice GUI for their respective VCS. They just make it so that you don't always have to use a command line. I don't know anything about AnkhSVN but the Tortoise products do a really good job.