I found this book covered well the basics and introduced some good practices. However overall the book might have been better organized. For example you have to read the whole book to understand what best practices to adopt, before going back to the chapter on installation.
The real case examples also lacked analysis.
Finally, the book is getting a bit old since it covers SVN 1.1 and SVN is now at version 1.4, and there is no online follow up/errata page from PHPTR.

I found this book covered well the basics and introduced some good practices. However overall the book might have been better organized. For example you have to read the whole book to understand what best practices to adopt, before going back to the chapter on installation.
The real case examples also lacked analysis.
Finally, the book is getting a bit old since it covers SVN 1.1 and SVN is now at version 1.4, and there is no online follow up/errata page from PHPTR.

This book covers all aspects of using Subversion: from setting up repositories, to daily usage, to administering the repositories that you created. There is also a section that explains how to configure the Apache web server to serve repositories. After reading the book, I truly had a good understanding of Subversion and how to use it effectively.

There is a minor precaution, however. This book only covers up to Subversion 1.1. Subversion 1.4 was recently released, so some newer functionality is not detailed. Although the book trails the current release of Subversion by a few releases, most of the enhancements are "behind the scenes", and don't affect how users interact with the repositories. (One feature that many people feel is important, the ability to lock files, was added in Subversion 1.2 and is therefore not covered.)

This book is an excellent introduction to almost all facets of Subversion, and I highly recommend it to Subversion novices. However, since it is slightly out of date in its feature coverage, I subtracted a star from the overall rating.

I was asked to research Subversion for use at work. After reading online manuals, I decided to purchase this book because it seemed pretty comprehensive. Indeed, it is very good at describing how to set up repositories, how to use it in day to day operations, how to administer it, etc. It even explains how to set it up for use through the Apache web server. After reading the book, I became the Subversion expert in the office. A lot of times, a person becomes the de facto expert simply because they have a miniscule amount of knowledge about something. This was different, though. I truly had a good understand of the topic.

There are a few minor precautions, however. This book was released at about the same time that Subversion 1.2 was released. Subversion 1.2 is NOT covered in this book. For the most part, it doesn't make a big difference. Probably the biggest difference is that 1.2 allows exclusive locking of files, and this book doesn't explain how to do it. It's easy to do, and a little bit of searching will show you how. Finally, Subversion 1.3 is near release. I'm not sure what is new in this release, but it's bound to make this book a bit less comprehensive.

It's somewhat difficult to rate this book. Had it been released well before version 1.2 of Subversion, it would easily get 5 stars. However, due to its lack of coverage of 1.2 (and the upcoming 1.3), I subtracted a star. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book for people that are just starting out, though.

While the book title indicates that this is a book on the Subversion Version Control software system the author has chosen to provide a more thorough background and cover such topics as why use version control and how to use it best in a software development environment. If you are already familiar with version control software you will be pleasantly surprised to find that the author not only details how to use it to its greatest benefit but also includes information on its limitations and workarounds for specific situations.

After the introductory and general background information the author jumps right into installation and setup. From there he first examines the use of Subversion from the user's standpoint and then from the administrator's perspective. The administrative part includes an excellent section on using scripts. The next part examines the software development process and not only includes using Subversion in the development process and several case studies, but also an excellent section on best practice policies. The last section of the book is a detailed technical reference that includes a detailed command reference. If you do software development of any type you will want to use a version control system. Subversion is a top quality open source solution and Subversion Version Control is an excellent resource on how to use it.

This is a straightforward book on a straightforward topic. Subversion is an open-source version control (VC) system conceived as a replacement for CVS. While improving on CVS in a number of ways, it nonetheless feels comfortable and familiar to CVS users. Furthermore, because it avoids some of CVS's worst "gotchas", it's easier for VC novices to learn. Nagel writes this book for both of these audiences in a plain, easy to read style.

As expected, the book covers the basic concepts of VC software, offers comparisons between Subversion and several other VC systems, and discusses Subversion's command set in detail. But the most valuable part of the book are the numerous discussions throughout of practical approaches to working in a VC environment and to managing a Subversion repository. There's some great material on how VC practices and development methodologies affect each other, and there are some detailed case studies of individual companies and how they use Subversion -- right down to the details of the client software, repository layout, and automation scripts that they use. There's always a danger that a book documenting a specific software package will simply duplicate material that's already in the manual; that really doesn't happen here.

Prospective Subversion users -- whether they're coming from a CVS or SourceSafe environment, or if they're new to VC all together -- won't go wrong with this book.

This is an excellent Subversion resource. Everything from administration through use and automation is covered. In addition the author imparts some experience based wisdom about proper branching technique, which can be impenetrable at the best of times. There are some issues, the code is often a little long and sometimes acts as exposition. But for the moment I would rate this as the best Subversion book that I have seen.

This is an excellent Subversion resource. Everything from administration through use and automation is covered. In addition the author imparts some experience based wisdom about proper branching technique, which can be impenetrable at the best of times. There are some issues, the code is often a little long and sometimes acts as exposition. But for the moment I would rate this as the best Subversion book that I have seen.

It's a pity that Nagel did not take a slight stroll on the wild side and call his book simply "Subversion Control". The actual title is logically correct but sounds redundant. Like the misbegotten phrase "The Los Angeles Angels". But if he'd chosen the shortened version, it would sound like a Homeland Security brochure.

Subversion is offered as a big improvement over the dominant CVS. The book describes a deliberately similar command line approach. With the same syntax for Subversion commands that map to corresponding CVS commands.

Perhaps the single biggest improvement is the better handling of directories. You can now version these just as you would files. This may be very apropos if you have a complex project. Where directories can encode high level structural decisions that may be as important as any subset of actual code.

It's a pity that Nagel did not take a slight stroll on the wild side and call his book simply "Subversion Control". The actual title is logically correct but sounds redundant. Like the misbegotten phrase "The Los Angeles Angels". But if he'd chosen the shortened version, it would sound like a Homeland Security brochure.

Subversion is offered as a big improvement over the dominant CVS. The book describes a deliberately similar command line approach. With the same syntax for Subversion commands that map to corresponding CVS commands.

Perhaps the single biggest improvement is the better handling of directories. You can now version these just as you would files. This may be very apropos if you have a complex project. Where directories can encode high level structural decisions that may be as important as any subset of actual code.