Subversion Delivers Version Control that CVS Can't
Subversion is an open-source version control tool that is superior to CVS. Find out which CVS flaws Subversion rectifies, and see how easy it is to start using this highly useful tool.
by Wellie Chao
April 12, 2005
he designers of Subversion have created an open-source version control tool that fixes the flaws and addresses shortcomings in the popular Concurrent Versions System (CVS) version control system. The following are the most significant and visible CVS flaws that Subversion rectifies:
CVS lacks directory versioning. It keeps track of only files, not directories.
CVS has weak support for the copy, rename, and delete operations on files, a result of the lack of directory versioning.
CVS lacks atomic commits.
In addition to these highly visible shortcomings, CVS also has the following less obvious shortcomings:
CVS lacks versioned metadata. It can remember file permissions, but that is about it.
CVS is hard to extend. There is no API that makes extension an easy process.
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he designers of 
