Version Control

Version control is a descriptive term for a code- or document-management system that can keep track of the interrelationships among multiple documents (or source code items, code libraries, etc.) and manage to supply a correct collection of elements to construct a program, a book, or some other kind of document.

Because individual components get updated during any development process (such as writing a book or creating a Web site), version control is a terrific thing to have: It can store all versions of all documents, and produce the current production version of a Web site (by stringing together all the most recent fully tested HTML documents, graphics files, and CGI programs) at the same time it can deliver the most current version of your test Web. Anyone with a large number of HTML documents, graphics files, and CGI programs to manage should strongly consider buying into this technology. Even those organizations, like those of your authors (who manage over a dozen small to medium-sized Web sites) can benefit from this technology.

URLs:

Multiplatform Code Management

A pointer to Kevin Jameson's excellent book, Multiplatform Code Management, at the O'Reilly & Associates Web site. For those in need of more information on the subject, this is a great place to start.

configuration management software

This site bills itself as the "Configuration Management Yellow Pages." True to its name, it's a great clearinghouse for all kinds of configuration management software, techniques, and information. It also has a great list of commercial and public domain configuration management systems.

Configuration Management Resource Guide

Steve Easterbrook's Configuration Management Resource Guide, probably the most comprehensive listing of tools and information on this subject available anywhere (but text-only).

Concurrent Versions System

A site that describes the Gnu Tools' Concurrent Versions System (CVS), probably the most popular of the freeware (copyleft) configuration management tools available today.

W3E References:

configuration management system

document management system

source code