Subversion UI Shootout

by Jeremy Jones
03/10/2005

Subversion is a revision control system intended to be a better CVS. The three "featured projects" on the Tigris page under the SCM category are Subversion, TortoiseSVN, and RapidSVN. This article compares some of the major features of Subversion among the three featured clients (the CLI, RapidSVN, and TortoiseSVN) and some principles around the usability of tools that have both CLI and GUI incarnations. As it discusses a feature where either the CLI or GUI is superior to the other and a general principle is apparent, it points out the principle of superiority.

TortoiseSVN

TortoiseSVN integrates with Windows Explorer and makes all of its features available there. All commands are available through context-sensitive right-click menus in Windows Explorer. Here are the options available on a file that a user has changed in the local repository:

Figure 1. TortoiseSVN features in Windows Explorer. Click for full-size image.

RapidSVN

RapidSVN is "a cross-platform GUI front end for the Subversion revision system written in C++ using the wxWidgets framework." This is a standard standalone application with all features available through main menus and right-click menus. Here are the options available with a right-click:

Figure 2. RapidSVN features. Click for full-size image.

Standard Command Line SVN Client

The command line SVN client is a command line utility that can perform all SVN commands.

Commands

Here are the Subversion commands I use most frequently with a comparison among each of the three SVN clients.

status

The status command provides information about the local repository relative to the server repository. It will show any modifications, additions, or deletions to a file or directory since the last commit.

CLI

This status command shows one file having been modified:

[jjones@cerberus cli_co]$ svn status
M      folder1/tttt.txt

RapidSVN

RapidSVN shows the status of files and directories by way of color coding and overlaying images over the icons for files and directories. For example, changed files will be red, and new files not in the repository will have a blue question mark image overlying the folder/file icon. Here is an example of Rapid showing a modified file:

Figure 3. RapidSVN showing a modified file. Click for full-size image.

TortoiseSVN

Like RapidSVN, TortoiseSVN shows the status of files and directories by way of images overlaying the file and directory icons in Windows Explorer. Up-to-date files and directories have an image of a green circle with a white check mark in them. Modified files and directories have an image of a red circle with an exclamation point in them. Here is an example of Tortoise showing a modified file:

Figure 4. TortoiseSVN showing a modified file. Click for full-size image.

It is less "work" to see the status from the GUI tools if you are only interested in the files in your current directory. All you have to do is look, with no typing and no clicking. If you are interested instead in the status of all files and directories under a specific directory, the GUI operations grow more complicated. The CLI client command is recursive by default, and as such, is perhaps more helpful in this regard. There is no way (at least that I have found) to see recursive statuses in RapidSVN. In Tortoise, you have to start a commit to show this information; more on that later.

diff

The diff command shows what has changed (or the difference) between two versions of a file, most commonly between the current version being worked on and the version most recently committed to the repository.

CLI

Here is the CLI command and result for a diff between the current working version and the most recently checked in version of the file tttt.txt (diffing between the current working version and the most recently checked in version is the default):

[jjones@cerberus cli_co]$ svn diff folder1/tttt.txt
Index: folder1/tttt.txt
        ===================================================================
--- folder1/tttt.txt    (revision 3)
+++ folder1/tttt.txt    (working copy)
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@
4


+test line 3

RapidSVN

In order to perform a diff in RapidSVN, right-click on the file and select diff from the menu. As with the CLI, the default behavior is to diff the current working version against the most recently checked in version in the repository. One item of note is that you have to configure a diff utility manually. On the Linux laptop I am writing this article on, gvimdiff comes through in a pinch.

TortoiseSVN

Again, as with RapidSVN, TortoiseSVN provides diff functionality with a right mouse click on the file to diff. As with both other clients, the default behavior is diffing the current working version against the most recently checked in version.

The ease of performing the default diff is, arguably, comparable among each of the three clients. However, when it comes to complicated diffs, such as between two versions in the repository, it is easier to do in one of the GUIs (and both are equally easy). All you have to do is select a file, view the GUI SVN log, select the versions to diff, and select diff. With the CLI, you have to view a log first to find the versions, then remember what the parameters are to diff two versions (-r <old>:<new>), remember the versions, then plug the two versions into the command line. It's not a tremendous hassle, but having the versions right in front of your face makes it a little easier.

GUI Principle #1

GUIs are superior when graphical representations add clarification. A good example of this is a standard GUI diff utility. While it is possible to figure out what has changed with a unified diff output, it is very helpful to have a split-framed diff utility (such as vimdiff or Tortoise's built-in diff) and see the old file and new file side by side with changes color coded.

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