https://www.icyphoenix.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4608&p=31048#p31048
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Mighty Gorgon
Thu 28 Aug, 2008 14:44

Icy Phoenix Goes SVN
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This topic is now outdated, you can refer to this new one:

[url=http://www.icyphoenix.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7806]Icy Phoenix Project Moved To GIT Only

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Hi all,
I have decided to move Icy Phoenix to SVN to have a better control on the code and to provide to all that are interested a way to better follow this project.

A quick introduction on what SVN (Subversion) is:
[quote]Subversion is a free/open-source version control system. That is, Subversion manages files and directories, and the changes made to them, over time. This allows you to recover older versions of your data, or examine the history of how your data changed. In this regard, many people think of a version control system as a sort of "time machine".[/quote]

In a nutshell SVN allows developers to automatically keep track of all the changes to the package, and allows all interested users to follow the project by a different point of view.

Most of you won't be interested in SVN because it requires some skills and time do dedicate on it, but for the few of you which are interested in the development phase this will be a great opportunity to be an active part in this project.

[i]If you want to be just a normal end user of Icy Phoenix you may stop reading this announce here, as what it follows requires some technical skills and time to be spent on this project.[/i]

I will try to give you a quick overview on how Icy Phoenix Project will be managed from now on (remember that things may change :-P)

Until last week I used to code on my own PC making daily backups and keeping all old files archived on several backup locations. Few months ago [b]hpl[/b] joined Icy Phoenix Development Team, and started to code new things for the project. Of course some things changed for me: I needed to keep [b]hpl[/b] updated with all the new files and decisions about the project. This is of course time consuming... and something it is frustrating to merge the files which have been modified by both of us...

This is why I decided to switch to a system which offers a better "communication" method between developers.

I have started a new project @ Assembla.com

[url=http://www.assembla.com/spaces/icy_phoenix]Icy Phoenix @ Assembla

I have set up an SVN Repository that is always updated with the latest version of the files, so we can automatically download the latest version and update our local working copy.

Not only... I have decided to leave this repository open to the public, which means that everyone that is interested may now download the latest available Icy Phoenix code and test it.

A Disclaimer is needed...
[color=#dd2222]Please note that this doesn't mean that these files are there to be used or that new release will be released through SVN!

All the files in the Icy Phoenix SVN Repository are meant for developing purpose, so if you decide to use files in the Repository [u]you do it at your own risk[/u].

[b]Official release will be ONLY published on this site and you should use for Live environments ONLY the latest available version in the Download section of this site.[/b][/color]

Now that you have understood :wink: what SVN is, here is the [b]Icy Phoenix SVN Repository[/b]:
[codeblock]http://svn.assembla.com/svn/icy_phoenix
http://svn.assembla.com/svn/icyphoenix_langs[/codeblock]

Some FAQs:
[list][*][color=#ff5500][b]What is SVN?[/b][/color]
[color=#228822]Subversion is a free/open-source version control system. That is, Subversion manages files and directories, and the changes made to them, over time. This allows you to recover older versions of your data, or examine the history of how your data changed. In this regard, many people think of a version control system as a sort of "time machine".

Further informations can be found here: [url=http://svnbook.red-bean.com/]Subversion Book

Other useful links:
[url=http://phpbbmodders.net/articles/general/svn_intro/]Subversion: Introduction
[url=http://phpbbmodders.net/articles/general/svn_advanced/]Subversion: Advanced[/color]

[*][color=#ff5500][b]How can I access to the Repository and keeping it up to date in my own PC?[/b][/color]
[color=#228822]There are some software for doing that... and software depends on the OS you are using.
I personally use Windows based OS and I use TortoiseSVN as a client.
You will find the documentation to this tool here: [url=http://tortoisesvn.net/docs/release/TortoiseSVN_en/index.html]Tortoise SVN Documentation[/color]

[*][color=#ff5500][b]Why should I be interested in Icy Phoenix SVN?[/b][/color]
[color=#228822]You don't necessarily have to. Icy Phoenix is an open source project, and like all open source projects benefit by its own users contributions. Contributions may consists in:
[list=1][*]Helping in the development.
[*]Helping in finding bugs.
[*]Providing localizations.
[*]Providing customizations (both code and design).
[*]Helping in supporting the community.
[*]Making Donations.[/list]
Bullets from 1 to 4 all will benefit with SVN, because having access to the whole development code of a project gives a great overview and help in developing, finding bugs, localizing (this is great when near release date), customizing/designing. Even point 5 may benefit from SVN: a good supporter will help developers and users to keep track of new features and bug fixing via SVN history.[/color]

[*][color=#ff5500][b]I have seen new features in this site, will I find them in SVN?[/b][/color]
[color=#228822]If the features you are referring to are strictly related to Icy Phoenix per se, then yes, you will find in the SVN all the features of this site and probably some others which may not be reflected yet in this site. As I pointed out some lines above... if you decide to use the code in the SVN you do it on your own risk.[/color]

[*][color=#ff5500][b]Can I be an active part in Icy Phoenix development?[/b][/color]
[color=#228822]Of course the answer is yes. If you have good PHP, CSS, HTML skills just start studying the package and try to actively participate to this community. After a period of "training" if you feel comfortable with the project and you think you can do more for it, then try to contact me and we will discuss about it. If you are not familiar with PHP, CSS and HTML, do not desperate, we still need you: a good project is not only made by coder. It is really important to find people with good attitude in Team Working to keep the community alive: providing support, writing documentation, creating customizations, designing styles, providing translations and so on. If you have time to dedicate to this project, then we will find a place for you in the Staff. :wink:[/color]

[*][color=#ff5500][b]How can I start using this SVN then?[/b][/color]
[color=#228822]Here are some few basic steps for [url=http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/]TortoiseSVN for Windows (steps should be similar for other programs installed in other OS):
[list][*]Download and install [url=http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/]TortoiseSVN
[*]Create a folder on your hard disk where you want to download Icy Phoenix Project
[*]Right click on that folder and choose [b]SVN Checkout[/b]
[*]When asked insert the Icy Phoenix SVN Repository address and click ok:
[codeblock]http://svn.assembla.com/svn/icy_phoenix[/codeblock]
[*]After few minutes you will have all the Icy Phoenix Projects in your folder (remember that the last available version is in [b]ip/trunk[/b])
[*]For any other help, please refer to the manual: [url=http://tortoisesvn.net/docs/release/TortoiseSVN_en/index.html]Tortoise SVN Documentation[/list][/color][/list]

That's all for now. :P

Thanks for reading.

[i]Luca Libralato[/i]


