Every web developer, no matter what language you use should know the workings of a version control system. The one I most often use when working on projects is Subversion, aka SVN. SVN not only helps me keep my code organized, it also allows for others that are working with me to know of changes I have made to the source and vise versa. This allows multiple developers to work on the same source, fixing different bugs, simultaneously.

During my encounters with SVN I have tested many different uses and techniques to keep the development, staging, and stable environments separate but parallel to each other. I worked out my own ways of using SVN, which I will leave for another post. I can however say that Dan Previte’s post at null-logic [Using Subversion for Web Development] brings out some interesting points on how to use SVN for Web Development, and I agree with his method of using Subversion. One of the things I would like to enforce is the use of a testing checklist that needs to be executed on the staging environment, and hopefully the person doing this is not used to the source code. It is always good to have someone who is not necessarily involved in the development process doing the testing of the product.

You can also check out the SVN book which can be found here and is free.

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