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<h1 id="main">Version Control System Comparison</h1>
<p class="expl">
This is a comparison of version-control systems. It is split
into several categories and sub-categories under which the
systems are checked.
</p>
<p>
<b>Timestamp:</b>
<tt>
$Id: scm-comparison.xml 313 2008-07-12 07:25:40Z shlomif $
</tt>
</p>
<ul class="toc">
<li>
<a href="#repos_operations">Repository Operations</a>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="#atomic_commits">Atomic Commits</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#move">Files and Directories Moves or Renames</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#intelligent_renames">Intelligent Merging after Moves or Renames</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#copy">File and Directories Copies</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#repos_clone">Remote Repository Replication</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#push">Propagating Changes to Parent Repositories</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#permissions">Repository Permissions</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#changesets">Changesets' Support</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#annotate">Tracking Line-wise File History</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#features">Features</a>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="#work_on_dir">Ability to Work only on One Directory of the Repository</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#tracking_uncommited_changes">Tracking Uncommited Changes</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#per_file_commit_messages">Per-File Commit Messages</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#technical_status">Technical Status</a>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="#documentation">Documentation</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#ease_of_deployment">Ease of Deployment</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#command_set">Command Set</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#networking">Networking Support</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#portability">Portability</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#user_interaces">User Interfaces</a>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="#web_interface">Web Interface</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#availability_of_guis">Availability of Graphical User-Interfaces.</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#license">License</a>
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="repos_operations">Repository Operations</h2>
<h3 id="atomic_commits">Atomic Commits</h3>
<p class="expl">
Support for atomic commits means that if an
operation on the repository is interrupted
in the middle, the repository will not be
left in an inconsistent state. Are the
check-in operations atomic, or can
interrupting an operation leave the
repository in an intermediate state?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">No. CVS commits are not atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">Yes (but need to verify)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits (checkins) are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits and updates are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Commits are atomic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">No. VSS commits are not atomic.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="move">Files and Directories Moves or Renames</h3>
<p class="expl">
Does the system support moving a file or directory to
a different location while still retaining the history
of the file? <b>Note:</b> also see the next section
about intelligent merging of renamed paths.
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">
No. Renames are not supported and a manual one
may break history in two.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Renames of both files and directories are supported.
Supports controlling of symbolic links as well.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames are supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames are supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames are supported for files and directories.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames are supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Directories are first-class controlled entities
in Clearcase. Even supports controlling of
symbolic/hard links.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Both moves and renames are supported, while maintaining history.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames are supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Renames of files are supported.
Renaming a directory requires creating a new one,
moving the files and deleting the old one.
Moved file histories are preserved.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames are supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">
Renames are supported for most practical
purposes. Git even detects renames when a file has been
changed afterward the rename. However, due to a peculiar
repository structure, renames are not recorded
explicitly, and Git has to deduce them (which works well
in practice).
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Renames and move are supported but the working copy
needs to be up-to-date before doing a rename/move operation.
This operation will be committed directly.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames are supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames are supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames are supported</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
Not directly (you copy and then delete but it manages to
keep track of the branch)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. File renames are directly supported. File and folder
moves require creating a new one and deleting the old one.
Moved file histories are preserved.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Both moves and renames are supported, while maintaining history.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames are supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">No. Renames are not supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames are supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Both moves and renames are supported,
while maintaining history.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. The unit of checkout/checkin is a directory
tree. Files and directories can be added,
deleted, and renamed between versions.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">
Affects the whole history, it's like renaming a
file in the CVS repository. There is a kludgy workaround
using "share-rename,move,delete" that gets what you
want.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="intelligent_renames">Intelligent Merging after Moves or Renames</h3>
<p class="expl">
If the system keeps tracks of renames, does it support
intelligent merging of the files in the history after
the rename? (For example, changing a file in a renamed
directory, and trying to merge it).
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">
Renames are not supported at all, much less intelligent
ones.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
Unknown. FILL IN.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">Unknown. FILL IN.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames can be merged intelligently.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Renames are intelligent.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">Probably Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Unknown. FILL IN.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">Unknown. FILL IN.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">
Unknown. FILL IN.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">
Unkown. FILL IN.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">Unknown.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">
As detailed in the <a href="http://git.or.cz/gitwiki/GitFaq#rename-tracking">Git
FAQ</a>:
"Git has a rename command git mv, but that is just a
convenience. The effect is indistinguishable from removing
the file and adding another with different name and the
same content."
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
Unknown. FILL IN.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">
No. <a href="http://hgbook.red-bean.com/hgbookch5.html#x9-1030005.4">the
Mercurial book says:</a>
"When you use the 'hg rename' command, Mercurial makes a
copy of each source file, then deletes it and marks the
file as removed. "
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">Unknown. FILL IN.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">Unknown.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
No, renames are not intelligent.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Unknown. FILL IN.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">
Unknown. FILL IN.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">
"svn help me" says "Note: this subcommand is equivalent to
a 'copy' and 'delete'." There's <a href="http://subversion.tigris.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=898">a
bug report about it</a>.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">No. Renames are not supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">Same as Subversion.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">
Unknown. FILL IN.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Unknown. FILL IN.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">
No, renames are not intelligent.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="copy">File and Directories Copies</h3>
<p class="expl">
Does the version control system support copying
files or directories to a different location at the
repository level, while retaining the history?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">No. Copies are not supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
Copying is supported through symbolic links
(but all linked files are treated as the same file
version). Moves are fully supported with the history
retained.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">No. Copies are not supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">No. Copies of files and directory structures are
not supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">No. Copies are not supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Copies are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes, through use of hard links. (But some
limitations in Windows environments)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. An inexpensive operation that can be used for
sharing files in multiple places. On deploy, you have the
option of deploying only one of the shared files or all of them.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, and it's a very cheap operation (update the target
directory to include the new file/directory).
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Copying doesn't retain history, moving does.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">No. Copies of files and directory structures are
not supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">No. Copies are not supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">No, copies will start their own history.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Copies are supported</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Copies are supported</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">No. Copies are not supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">Copies are supported (though, because
of its architecture, I don't know how well)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Copies are supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Copying doesn't retain history, moving does.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. And it's a very cheap operation (O(1)) that
is also utilized for branching.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">No. Copies are not supported.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Same as subversion.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes - you can create a branch. But the GUI has no option to
view the old history. The <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/tfs2008/bb980963.aspx">
Power-Tool tfpt</a> has the option /followbranches to show
the history of the file branch's ancestors
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. A new package/branch can be based on any
existing version without affecting the past
history. (This is also an O(1) operation.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Copies are supported up to a point.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="repos_clone">Remote Repository Replication</h3>
<p class="expl">
Does the system support cloning a remote repository to get
a functionally equivalent copy in the local system? That
should be done without any special access to the remote
server except for normal repository access.
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">
Indirectly, by using
<a href="http://www.cvsup.org/">CVSup</a>
by John Polstra (which requires running the cvsupd
daemon on the server)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Not really applicable for clearcase, but see next point.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. CM+MultiSite can be configured to clone a repository
so that it continues to act as a single repository. Options include
cloning only from the main site (i.e. not allowing updates from the
clone) and restricting the set of files transferred to a cloned site.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, as long as you have the (more expensive) Distributed package.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Repositories are always replicated on local machines.
There is no central server.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. This is very intrinsic feature of Git.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes, but is not documented and its based on the dataflow feature of the
LibreSource Synchronizer.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">No.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Via the Perforce Proxy (P4P) tool.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
No. (But a proxy feature is planned for
inclusion in the next releases.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Not directly possible with the included GUI or command line tools; Some SQL Server tool might be useable.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">
Indirectly, by using Chia-liang Kao's
<a href="http://search.cpan.org/dist/SVN-Mirror/">SVN::Mirror</a>
add-on or Shlomi Fish'
<a href="http://search.cpan.org/dist/SVN-Pusher/">SVN-Pusher</a>
utility.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">
TFS Proxy is available but the replica isn't an
equivalent copy.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Replication is a fundamental part of the design.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">
Not directly possible with the included GUI or
command line tools; ssarc and ssrestor might be useable
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="push">Propagating Changes to Parent Repositories</h3>
<p class="expl">
Can the system propagate changes from one repository to
another?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">No.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
With AccuReplica, the replica server has all the meta-data
and fetches file data as needed by replica users; all
write operations pass automatically from the replica to
the master server.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, using Clearcase Multisite.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. In CM+MultiSite, changes made at the slave are,
by default, propagated to the Main(master) library, as well as
to all other Clones (slaves). You may also propagate changes
between unrelated repositories containing some of the same source.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, as long as you have the (more expensive) Distributed package.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">It's a peer-to-peer system,
which keeps all replicas of the repository in sync.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. (The Linux kernel development process uses this extremely often).</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, it's what we call a dataflow.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">No.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">Unknown. Probably Not.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">No.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Not directly possible with the included GUI or command line tools; Some SQL Server tool might be useable.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, using either Chia-Ling Kao's SVN::Mirror
script or the svn-push utility by Shlomi Fish.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">No.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">No.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">
Not directly possible with the included GUI or
command line tools; ssarc and ssrestor might be useable
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="permissions">Repository Permissions</h3>
<p class="expl">
Is it possible to define permissions on access to different
parts of a remote repository? Or is access open for all?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">
Limited. "pre-commit hook scripts" can be used to
implement various permissions systems.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Access can be defined per stream (branch) using
access control lists.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Aegis relies on the UNIX permissions system to
implement permissions for files in the repository.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. It is possible to define permissions on access to
different parts of a remote repository based on the
permission systems of the underlying protocol.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">
Basic access control can be implemented through a
contributed hook script. ACL support for the
Bazaar server is planned.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">
FILL IN
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes, a unix-like permissions model is used, which maps
onto Windows domain-based authentication in
multi-platform environments.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Permissions are defined by data, primarily,
not by location. If location is a part of the data, it may
be used to define permissions by location. Permissions may
apply to a branch, file, problem report, test case, etc.
Access may be extended based on peer group, manager, and
access lists.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">No, though a single server can serve many repositories.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">First access (joining the project)
requires administrator's approval.
Subsequent access to that project is not controlled.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">
No.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">No, but a single server can serve many repositories. Also, UNIX permissions can be used to some extent.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">Permissions are set for the whole repository or branch.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. It is possible to lock down repositories,
subdirectories, or files using hooks.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. It is possible to restrict incoming changes
from certain sources to be performed only in certain
parts of the repository.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Permissions are defined on a per-branch
basis.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. (more than half a dozen of permission levels that can
be set in a file by file basis)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. (more than half a dozen of permission levels that can
be set in a file by file basis)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. SourceAnywhere Server Manager can define access to a repository per user or group and user access rights to a project.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. The WebDAV-based service supports defining HTTP
permissions for various directories of the repository.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">
No.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">
Same as subversion.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. You get set permissions for each team project, folder,
file.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Access permissions for each package (the
unit of checkout/checkin) can be different.
Access permissions for a branch can be different
from the basis package.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">
Project specific permissions (read, write, delete, destroy)
can be set per user; but see "Networking Support":
this makes "Repository Permissions" a hindrance to
accidental damage but cannot prevent intentional damage.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="changesets">Changesets' Support</h3>
<p class="expl">
Does the repository support changesets? Changesets are a way
to group a number of modifications that are relevant to each
other in one atomic package, that can be cancelled or
propagated as needed.
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">No. Changes are file-specific.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes, AccuRev provides robust functionality for change
sets (called change packages in AccuRev) including viewing
differences by change packages and merging changes from
stream to stream by change package.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Changesets are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Changesets are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Changesets are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Changesets are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Not supported in this way. Extensive branching
support gives similar benefits. (eg each changeset
can be given a branch). Also optional UCM feature
gives something like this (each changeset is a
"stream").
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Change packages are known as updates. By
default, an update is required to make any change. The
update may be checked-in, differenced, promoted, retrieved,
propagated, yanked (i.e. removed from history), etc. each in
a single operation. Baseline alignment is performed
based on the status (i.e. promotion level) of the update.
Updates also record changes to directory structure: move,
add, remove.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Changesets (or tasks) are fundamental
to the way Synergy works.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Changesets are the default.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Changesets are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, Changesets are supported, and there's some flexibility in creating them.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
Partial support. There are implicit changeset that are generated on
each commit.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Changesets are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Changesets are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Changesets are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Changesets are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Changesets are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Not exactly. SourceAnywhere uses a related concept of configurations instead, which some has similar properties.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">Partial support. There are implicit
changeset that are generated on each commit.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">Partial support. Changes are grouped into changesets,
but cannot be cancelled invididually yet.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">Same as subversion.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Changesets are only possibility.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Not exactly. Vesta uses a related concept of
configurations instead, which some has similar
properties.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">No. Changes are file-specific.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="annotate">Tracking Line-wise File History</h3>
<p class="expl">
Does the version control system have an option to track the
history of the file line-by-line? I.e., can it show for each line
at which revision it was most recently changed, and by whom?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. cvs annotate</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Available from both the gui and cli.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. aeannotate</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">Not in the command line client, but ViewARCH,
a web-interface for Arch, has it.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. (bzr annotate).</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. (bk annotate)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, "cleartool annotate"</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. View revision tags. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">Probably, if you're a sufficiently proficient hacker with
their scripting language.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Not directly, but it's possible to compare
any two versions using a visual differ.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. (darcs annotate)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. (git blame).</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes, locally without any server connection with the standard graphical
Java client.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. (hg annotate)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, as of version 0.19.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">Unknown. Probably not.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, an annotation feature is present.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, annotation is available through the GUI.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. (SAW annotate)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. (svn blame)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">No.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. (svk blame)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. (tf annotate).</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
No, but it would be easy to implement a tool that
did this, as the Vesta repository provides direct
filesystem access to all versions.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">Not directly, but it's possible to compare
any two versions using a visual differ.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h2 id="features">Features</h2>
<h3 id="work_on_dir">Ability to Work only on One Directory of the Repository</h3>
<p class="expl">
Can the version control system checkout only one directory of
the repository? Or restrict the check-ins to only one
directory?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. AccuRev provides functionality to define
feature streams in which only the subset of code is seen.
A group of developers can then be retricted to work only
from that stream so they are only allowed to check in
changes to that subset of code.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">No. All changes are made repository-wide.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">
It is possible to commit only a certain directory.
However, one must check out the entire repository as a
whole.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">For checkouts: No. For checkins: Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">No. All changes are made repository-wide.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, using snapshot view load rules.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Any arbitrary set can be checked out
and worked on. Similarly, arbitrary restrictions may be
applied for check-in, including file ownership.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes and no. Files and directories are checked out and in
individually, however you have to work in the context of a
project, which consists of one or more directories.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">No. All changes are made to a project as
a unit, but it's possible to access each file's
history separately.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">
It is possible to commit only a certain directory.
However, one must check out the entire repository as a
whole.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">No. However, commits could be restricted somewhat, see the "Repository Permissions".</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
It is possible to commit only a certain directory. However, one must
check out the entire repository as a whole.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">
It is possible to commit changes only in a subset of the
tree. There are plans for partial checkouts.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">
It is possible to commit changes only in a subset of the
tree. However, one must extract the entire tree to work
on it.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">No. All changes are made to a project as
a unit
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Changes to a sub-directory of the repository
are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. SourceAnywhere can define the user access right to each project
and users can be restricted to work only on the projects they have check out/in right.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">No.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes and no. The unit of checkout/checkin (called a
package) is a directory tree. Most projects use
more than one. Once created, a package must be
checked out/in as a unit.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="tracking_uncommited_changes">Tracking Uncommited Changes</h3>
<p class="expl">
Does the software have an ability to track the changes in the
working copy that were not yet committed to the repository?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Using cvs diff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. The functionality is available through both the GUI
and the command line interface.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Using aediff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Using aediff.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes, using "tla changes".
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, using "bzr diff".</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Using bk diff.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, "cleartool diff"</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Use Updates | Delta | Delta Update. Or
right click a file or directory and do a compare to workspace.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, either using integrated diff tool or user-configured
external diff tool</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, using built-in visual differ/editor.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes, using "darcs whatsnew".
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.
Also, branches are very lightweight in Git, and
could be considered a kind of storage for "uncommitted" code in some workflows.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes, with the Synchronizer Studio (default Java client) or with the
standard diff command (diff -r . .so6/xxx/REFCOPY/)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Using hg diff.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. In a similar fashion to CVS.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Using cm diff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Using saw diff.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Using svn diff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Local changes are detected and shown immediately. Changes can be
collected in a local buffer before being committed to the repository.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Using svk diff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Using tf diff or "Pending Changes" in Visual Studio.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Intermediate immutable snapshots can be
taken during an active checkout (with vadvance).
These intermediate versions can be treated just
like checked in versions: they can be replicated
to other repositories and used as the basis for
branches.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, using integrated diff tool.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="per_file_commit_messages">Per-File Commit Messages</h3>
<p class="expl">
Does the system have a way to assign a per-file commit message
to the changeset, as well as a per-changeset message?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">No. Commit messages are per change.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">No. Commit messages are per change.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">
No.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">
With respect to pure Bazaar: No. At least one
plugin (bzr-gtk) supports it though.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. It is possible to have a per-file
commit message</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes, assuming a comment on the branch is sufficient
for a per-changeset message.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Out of the box CM+ is configured to
prompt for messages (i.e. comments) only per change.
However, the schema is pre-configured so that you may
prompt on a per file basis as well (typically done at
checkout time as the entire change is normally checked
in with a single operation.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">No. Commit messages are per change.
They go to all project members and update
their repositories.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">
No.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">No. Commit messages are per changeset.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">No. Commit messages are per changeset.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">
No.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. It is possible to attach a comment to a certain
file at a certain revision.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Unknown.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
No. Commit messages are per change.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
No. Commit messages are per change.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">No. There is no such feature.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">No. There is no such feature.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">No. There is no such feature.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">No. Commit messages are per changeset.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Not exactly. The unit of checkin is a directory,
and commit messages are assigned at that level,
not to individual files. Since configurations are
also versioned, they also have commit messages.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">Since changesets are not supported, yes.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h2 id="technical_status">Technical Status</h2>
<h3 id="documentation">Documentation</h3>
<p class="expl">
How well is the system documented? How easy is it to
get started using it?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">Excellent. There are many online tutorials and
resources and an online book. The command line client
also provides an online comprehensive help system.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. There is a full set of documentation available
in pdf format available at
<a href="http://www.accurev.com/documentation.html">AccuRev
Documentation</a> as well as context-sensitive help
in the GUI.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">
Medium. The documentation is given in several large scope
troff documents, that are only usable as not-so-PDFish
PDF documents, and as text documents that lack any
formatting. It is very hard to get started using
it with the online resources. The content is of good
quality, but otherwise not made very accessible.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">
Medium. There are two online tutorials and a
comprehensive online documentation. The command line
client also supplies a reference page. However, some of
the documentation is out of date or incomplete.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Apart from online help in the command
line client there exist tutorials, a reference
card ("Quick Start Guide"), several full fledged
guides and references, and documents on
specialized topics, such as migration from other
VCS systems and different workflows. The
documentation comes in html and plain-text formats. The
API of the underlying library is fully documented.
In the UI design of the command line client
special attention was paid to make it easy to get
started with Bazaar.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. There is a comprehensive help at the BitKeeper
site. Each command is documented in its own man page,
and the client contains a help tool that offers
an integrated help system.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Extensive online help in Windows Help / UNIX manpage
format, also PDF-based documentation. However the
complexity of the tool can mean a lengthy ramp-up
time.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. There is a self-demo/tutorial
to get you started quickly. Administration is minimal.
So normal developer use requires only a 1 to 2 hour
training session (or equivalent guide) to introduce you
to concepts and capabilities (e.g. like updates, options).
Customization documentation is also extensive but should
normally be accompanied by a 2-day to 4-day course for
GUI, Process, Data and Application set customization.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">Medium. Lots of books, plus somewhat
clunky set of HTML pages, but has some radical concepts
which can cause real problems really quickly. They recommend
a day's training for basic users, more for more advanced users.
Took a while to become fluent.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Very good. Step-by-step tutorial and HTML help
is included.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. The manual contains a brief tutorial and a solid
reference. Every sub-command can print its usage.
Because the command-set is small and the model is
simple, many users find it easy to get started.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">
Medium. The short help is too terse and obscure. The man pages are extensive,
but tend to be confusing. The are many tutorials.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
Medium. There are an online tutorial and some comprehensive online
documentation. Installing and getting started with the GUI is very easy
though. (update/commit-next-next-next-finished)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. There is a
<a href="http://hgbook.red-bean.com/">companion
book</a> and a wiki. Every command has integrated help.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. There's an overview and tutorial written in Texi,
and a man page. The client supplies documentation for
every command.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Well documented.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
Very Good (html and command line help)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Very Good (html and command line help)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Good. There's an overview and tutorial on the web site,
and integrated help for every command.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. There is a free online book and some online
tutorials and resources. The book is written in
DocBook/XML and so is convertible to many different
formats. The command-line client also provides a good
online help system that can be used as a reference.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">
Fairly poor. There are two tutorials, but there is no
reference. Installing and getting started with the GUI
is very easy though.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">
Relatively poor, but improving. There's
<a href="http://svkbook.elixus.org/">a work-in-progress
book</a> as well as
<a href="http://svk.elixus.org/">the Wiki</a> and some
external Articles and Tutorials.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. A comprehensive documentation in the MSDN Library.
Many Step-by-Step tutorial videos online.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Quite thoroughly (HTML, man pages, published
papers, a book-length research report).
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">Medium. Help file which is sometimes useful.
However, the interface is reasonably intuitive so
documentation isn't needed as much.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="ease_of_deployment">Ease of Deployment</h3>
<p class="expl">
How easy is it to deploy the software? What are
the dependencies and how can they be satisfied?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. Out of being the de-facto standard,
CVS is available on most systems and is easy
to deploy.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. All that is required is to download the
binaries for the appropriate platform and run the
installer. The installation package is self-contained. No
additional software is needed. AccuRev supports most UNIX,
Linux, and Windows platforms and deploying AccuRev to a
multi-platform environment is straight-forward.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">
The Aegis binary should be installed as SUID-root, and
so requires root privileges to install. It also not very
portable to Win32 systems. Other than that, Aegis supports
an easy autoconf or RPM/apt-based installation process.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. An arch service is nothing but a
filesystem-space hosted by any of its supported
protocols (FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, etc.). The arch client
is written in C, and is portable across UNIX systems
(and on Win32 only with a UNIX emulation layer).
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">
Very easy. Bazaar has an installer for MS Windows
and packages for some major Linux distributions,
FreeBSD, and Mac OS X. The dependencies for
manual installation are listed on the Bazaar
website.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. All that is required is downloading a binary
for the system and installing it using the installation
script. The package is self-contained and is easy to
set up.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Poor. Clearcase is very difficult to install in
general. At least, setup for a new site is quite
complex. Installing additional servers (eg
repository servers) is less so.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Typical installation need only be done
on the server (with a single shortcut established on the
client). This assumes file system connectivity. For IP
only connectivity, installation is also required on
remote clients. Installation is typically a couple of
minutes. No dependencies unless web interface is used,
in which case an Apache server is required. A download
is available from Neuma's web site and takes you right
into a self-guided fully working demo version.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">
Medium. There is a detailed install guide for setting it
up using a binary kit and a set of scripts. However
it still took several tries to get it properly installed
and configured. The Windows client has a slightly clunky
Windows installer.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Very easy to deploy, since there is no central
server. Can be configured to use e-mail or LAN (or both) for
synchronization. For e-mail, requires MAPI-compliant
e-mail client.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. darcs requires few external libraries,
however you need the Glasgow Haskell Compiler if you
cannot find a binary. To start working, just "darcs
init".
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. Binary packages are available
for modern platforms. C compiler and Perl are
required. Requires cygwin on Windows, and has some
UNIXisms.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. It is managed by JavaWebStart with links on any
LibreSource repository web page.
(links: create workspace, update, commit, studio...)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Binary packages are available for all
popular platforms. Building from source requires
only Python 2.3 (or later) and a C compiler.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. It is possible to copy or compile the executable
to the user's machine, without any configuration or
external dependencies.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. Install the RPM, or build from tarball and
install the init script.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. Perforce is very easy to deploy.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. PureCM is very easy to deploy.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Excellent. Dynamsoft SourceAnywhere is extremely easy to install.
It is totally written in C++ from scratch,
which means that you don't need any additional components
and frameworks to support the installation.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">
A Subversion service requires installing an Apache 2
module (if one wishes to use HTTP as the underlying
protocol) or its own proprietary server. The client
requires only the Subversion-specific logic and the
Neon WebDAV library (for HTTP). Installation of the
components is quite straightforward, but will require
some work, assuming Subversion does not come prepackaged
for one's system.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">
If Java 1.4 is installed, deployment of Superversion
usually takes two clicks.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">
In addition to installing subversion, users are required
to install the subversion perl bindings and a few modules
from CPAN.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">
Installation is quite complex. Needs IIS, MS-SQL Server and
Reporting Services. A own installation guide with
step-by-step guide is available.
Allows separating in data and app tier.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Medium to Good. There is a detailed installation guide
for setting it up using a binary kit. RPMs and
Debian packages have been recently released.
There are no dependencies on other software. There is a
bootstrap package available to build Vesta from using
"make".
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good - an installation package which does the work.
When you create a repository it installs the exe's in a
directory and you can run them from there if you need to.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="command_set">Command Set</h3>
<p class="expl">
What is the command set? How compatible is it with
the commands of CVS (the current open-source defacto
standard)?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">
A simple command set that includes three most commonly
used commands (cvs commit, cvs update and cvs checkout)
and several others.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
Very extensive but not compatible with cvs.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">
A complex command set that involves many operations
just to get started. Not CVS-compatible. (albeit
support for such basic operations was contemplated)
Note that Aegis is a Software Configuration Management
system and not just a simple version control system,
which may justify this extra complexity.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">
Many commands are compatible with CVS or BitKeeper. However,
there are many other commands for it for different uses.
Aliasing of commands is possible so it it may be possible
to make it more compatible.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">
Tries to follow CVS conventions, but deviates
where there is a different design.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">
A CVS-like command set with some easy-to-get-used-to
complications due to its different way of work and
philosophy.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. All tools are available through the
command-line. Not very compatible with CVS though.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
CM+ has several dozen commands that can
be used both for operation and configuration of the product.
As CM+ is change-based, commands are substantially
different than CVS. The GUI is used primarily and implemented
on top of the command set. As well, CM+ covers a full ALM
suite and can be extended beyond, so there are many more
generic commands for browsing, reporting, etc.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">An extensive and powerful command set,
which has some CVS similarity, though the architecture
is so different that it quickly moves away for anything
but the basics.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Basic commands are compatible with CVS.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">
The command set is fairly compact and the core commands
are easy to understand. Follows CVS in a few places,
but since the model is different most commands are
unique.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">Command set is very feature-rich, and not compatible with CVS.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
Basic commands available (commit/update), but it's really simple to
use the GUI. Ant task are also available.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">
Tries to follow CVS conventions, but deviates where there
is a different design.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">
Tries to follow CVS conventions, but deviates where there
is a different design.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">
A CVS-like command set that is familiar to existing CVS
users.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
Very extensive but not compatible with CVS.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
A CVS-like command set which is easy to get used to
for CVS-users.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Very extensive but not compatible with CVS.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">
A CVS-like command set which is easy to get used to
for CVS-users.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">
There is little need to memorize a command set because
all actions take place in a GUI. A part of the terminology
used in the application is borrowed from CVS.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">
A CVS-like command set which is easy to get used to
for CVS-users.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">
The command set allows more operations than the GUI
but isn't compatible with CVS.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
The command set is unrelated to CVS. Most of the
time, users use about 5 commands. Few ever need
to know more than about 20 commands.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">
A bit of an afterthought. It's possible to do basic
things, but it's really geared up for using the GUI.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="networking">Networking Support</h3>
<p class="expl">
How good is the networking integration of the system?
How compliant is it with existing protocols and infra-structure?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. CVS uses a proprietary protocol with various
variations for its client/server protocol. This protocol
can be tunneled over an SSH-connection to support
encryption.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. (proprietary protocol using TCP/IP)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">
Poor. Aegis is filesystem-oriented and so can be networked
only via NFS (network file-system) or a similar protocol.
There exists some HTTP-functionality, but it is quite
limited.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Arch can utilize a multitude of protocols
for its service, which is nothing but a dumb remote
filesystem server. Currently supported protocols include
FTP, SFTP, WebDAV (remote file access over HTTP),
as well as any remote filesystem protocol (NFS, SMB).
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Works natively over HTTP (read-only),
FTP and SFTP without having Bazaar installed at
the remote end. Works over HTTP, SSH and a custom
protocol when talking to a remote Bazaar
server. Supports RSYNC and WebDAV (experimental)
through plugins.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. Repositories can be checked out from remote
over HTTP, and BitKeeper also sports its own proprietary
protocol for communicating between one repository and
the other.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Poor. Uses an *extremely* chatty RPC protocol for
most clearcase operations, plus NFS or SMB for
accessing the files themselves. Typically servers
should be deployed locally (ie on the same LAN) as
the client workstations for acceptable performance.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. File system connectivity,
TCP/IP connectivity and Web connectivity may be
intermixed. MultiSite connectivity is over TCP/IP,
as is License server. Works well with SSH, NFS, SMB, etc.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">Good (single TCP/IP socket)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Uses the simplest LAN interface:
copying files between shared directories.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. Darcs supports getting patches over HTTP, and
getting and sending patches over SSH and email.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">Excellent. Can use native Git protocol,
but works over rsync, ssh, HTTP and HTTPS also.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. Use of HTTP to get through firwalls.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Uses HTTP or ssh. Remote access also
works safely without locks over read-only network
filesystems.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. Uses a custom protocol called "netsync".
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. Uses its own proprietary client/server protocol.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. (single TCP/IP socket)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. (single TCP/IP socket)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Good. (single TCP/IP socket)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. The Subversion service can use either
WebDAV+DeltaV (which is HTTP or HTTPS based) as its
underylying protocol, or its own proprietary protocol
that can be channeled over an SSH connection.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. Network support based on RMI is integrated
seamlessly. Encryption and HTTP tunnelling are planned
for the near future.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. svk uses SVN::Mirror to retrieve remote
repository. There has been plans to add VCP support
to SVN::Mirror so it will be able to mirror from arbitary
remote version control systems.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">Good. Use of HTTP(S).</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Networking is inherent to the system. The
repository exports both an NFS interface and an
RPC interface. The checkout and checkin tools
automatically contact a remote repository when
required to perform an operation.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">
VSS uses a Windows network share which has to be writable
for the VSS users (since this means doubling maintenance
for new users). Add user in VSS and to share permissions.
the share is most often world-writable, as is the default
when creating a share) It does not perform well over a
slow network connection.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="portability">Portability</h3>
<p class="expl">
How portable is the version-control system to various
operating systems, computer architectures, and other
types of systems?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. Client works on UNIX, Windows and Mac OS.
Server works on UNIXes and on Windows with a UNIX
emulation layer.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. The server runs on most UNIX, Linux
and Windows platforms. The client runs on all of these
platforms and on Mac OS X.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">
Medium. The source is portable across all UNIXes,
but the Windows version work only using cygwin, and even
then not entirely natively.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. The source is portable across all UNIXes,
but requires a UNIX emulation layer on Windows. (need to
verify). A service can be hosted on any platform
that sports a suitable Internet service.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">
Works on MS Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD,
UNIX, and basically on any system that has a
recent Python port. With case-insensitive file
systems there are some issues that can be avoided
by using a graphical frontend. On MS Windows
there is a plugin to support tracking of symlinks
even if they are not supported natively by the
file system.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. Binaries are available for most common UNIX
systems and for Windows 98 and above.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Medium. Available on Windows, and several selected
flavours of UNIX (not including MacOS X, or any
other Linux other than Red Hat).
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. Clients and Servers work on Unix,
Linux, and Windows. MAC OS X port pending. Moving server
from one platform to another is a copy operation only. Can
have different platforms for different servers in a MultiSite
configuration. Easily configurable Web client also supported.
No CR/LF issues. Scripts are all portable as well.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good - various flavours of Unix,
Windows (only NT family for the server), VMS, and
possibly other systems.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Windows only: starting with Win95.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. Supports many UNIXes, Mac OS X, and Windows,
and is written in a portable language.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">
The client works on most UNIXes, but not on native MS-Windows. The cygwin build
seems to be workable, though.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Clients and servers work on any Java 1.5-compatible
platform. (Windows, Linux and Mac OS X )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Runs on all platforms supported by
Python. Repositories are portable across CPU
architectures and endian conventions.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Executable is portable across all UNIXes and
Win32.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. Portable across all UNIX systems.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Runs on UNIX, Mac OS, BeOS and Windows.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Client and Server run on Windows, Linux,
Solaris and other UNIXes. The client also runs on Mac
OS X.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Good. The server runs on Windows only.
Clients can work on any platform that SWT (Standard Widget Toolkit) supports,
including Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, SCO Unix, FreeBSD and so on.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Clients and Servers work on UNIX,
Windows and Mac OS X.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Clients and servers work on any Java
1.4-compatible platform. There is official support
for Windows, Linux and OS/2.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. Clients requires subversion and its perl bindings.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">
The Server and Client needs Windows. A thirdparty company,
Teamprise, has developed a client for Eclipse, which means
Linux, Mac and other UNIXes support. The Project SvnBridge
allows access using SVN clients but needs to run on Windows.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. It should be portable to any UNIX system.
Currently it runs on Digital/Compaq/HP Tru64 UNIX
and Linux on several different CPU architectures.
Ports to Solaris and FreeBSD are planned but
haven't begun yet.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">
The Microsoft Product is Windows only.
<a href="http://www.mainsoft.com/">MainSoft</a>
ships a version of it for some UNIX platforms.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h2 id="user_interaces">User Interfaces</h2>
<h3 id="web_interface">Web Interface</h3>
<p class="expl">
Does the system have a WWW-based interface that can be
used to browse the tree and the various revisions of the
files, perform arbitrary diffs, etc?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.
<a href="http://www.freebsd.org/projects/cvsweb.html">CVSweb</a>,
<a href="http://www.viewvc.org/">ViewVC</a>,
<a href="http://www.horde.org/chora/">Chora</a>,
and <a href="http://wwcvs.republika.pl/">wwCVS</a>.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">No.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">
There's <a href="http://arch.bluegate.org/viewarch.html">ViewARCH</a>, and
<a href="http://migo.sixbit.org/software/archzoom/">ArchZoom</a>
which are
works in progress.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes, several:
<a href="http://www.lag.net/loggerhead/">Loggerhead</a>,
<a href="http://goffredo-baroncelli.homelinux.net/bazaar/">Webserve</a>,
<a href="http://mccormick.cx/dev/bzrweb/index.py/log/bzrweb/head">Bzrweb</a>,
and
<a href="http://bazaar-vcs.org/TracBzr">Trac</a>.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Its own built-in web-interface.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Web views are supported.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Can be configured to restrict which operations
are allowed by which users, so that customers may access their
requests without seeing development team data.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">Possibly.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Since this functionality is always
available locally, there is no need for web interface.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">
<a href="http://abridgegame.org/cgi-bin/darcs.cgi/darcs/">darcs.cgi</a>
is included in the distribution.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes. Gitweb is included in distribution.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes, without diff features but with a better awareness support.
(allow to know at any time on each version each one is working on)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. The web interface is a bundled component.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">No.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">No.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">Yes, P4Web.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Currently not.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">Yes.
<a href="http://www.viewvc.org/">ViewVC</a>,
<a href="http://freshmeat.net/projects/svnweb/">SVN::Web</a>,
<a href="http://websvn.tigris.org/">WebSVN</a>,
<a href="http://viewsvn.berlios.de/">ViewSVN</a>,
<a href="http://www.outoforder.cc/projects/apache/mod_svn_view/">mod_svn_view</a>,
<a href="http://www.horde.org/chora/">Chora</a>,
<a href="http://www.edgewall.com/trac/">Trac</a>,
<a href="http://web-cpan.berlios.de/modules/SVN-RaWeb-Light/">SVN::RaWeb::Light</a>,
<a href="http://www.polarion.org/svnbrowser.php">SVN
Browser</a>,
<a href="http://insurrection.tigris.org/">Insurrection</a>
and <a href="http://www.osdevel.org/projects/show/16?lang=en">perl_svn</a>.
Aside
from that, the Subversion Apache service provides a
rudimentary web-interface.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">No.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">Yes. Same as Subversion.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">Web Access is available as download for free.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes: <a href="http://www.scooter.cx/vestaweb/">Vestaweb</a>.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">
It is possible to code one using the API, but no official
or third-party one exists.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="availability_of_guis">Availability of Graphical User-Interfaces.</h3>
<p class="expl">
What is the availability of graphical user-interfaces for
the system? How many GUI clients are present for it?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">Very good. There are many available GUIs:
WinCVS, Cervisia (for KDE),
TortoiseCVS (Windows Explorer plug-in).
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">
A single, comprehensive,
java-based GUI is provided. The GUI has the same
look-and-feel on all platforms.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">
There is tkaegis.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">
There are
<a href="http://www.ibe.miee.ru/tlator/">tlator</a>,
<a href="http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Yasushi_Saito/octopy/">Octopy</a>,
and <a href="http://www.nongnu.org/archway/">ArchWay</a>
and possibly others under development.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">
There are several graphical frontends in
development,
see <a href="http://bazaar-vcs.org/BzrPlugins">the Bazaar Plugins page</a>
and <a href="http://bazaar-vcs.org/3rdPartyTools">the Third-party Tools page</a>.
Notable
are <a href="http://bazaar-vcs.org/QBzr">QBzr
(Qt)</a> and
<a href="http://bazaar-vcs.org/bzr-gtk">bzr-gtk (GTK+)</a>, which
can be considered beta quality. Work is also
being done on integrating Bazaar with Windows
Explorer, Eclipse, Nautilus, and Meld.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">
Good. BitKeeper ships with several
GUIs for performing common tasks. I'm not aware
of any third-part GUIs.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Supplied for both Windows and UNIX. GUI tools are
typically not as solid as the command-line tools
though.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc">
Excellent. Windows and Unix/Linux GUI as well
as web GUI. Extensively configurable via simple menu files,
browser files, etc. Can customize the set of to-do lists by
user/role, same for menus, pop-up menus, default visible tabbed
reports, etc. GUI also used for all admin and for process
and data schema customization. Also plug-in for Visual Studio,
Eclipse, etc. and File Browser (Windows).
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">
A couple of GUIs. A motif-based one
(even on Windows) allows most functionality but is clunky.
A nicer Java one allows developer work but not much
administrative stuff. Has an SCCI plug-in, though it
doesn't handle network problems well.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">The system is GUI-based by design.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">
None to speak of. (There is a modest graphical
interface to a few commands in the distribution, but it
is not being developed currently.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">
Gitk is included in distribution. Qgit and Git-gui tools are also available.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">
One written in Java/SWING and available on any OS that
is automatically launched from the repository web page and
another one which is an Eclipse plugin.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">
History viewing available with hgit extension;
check-in extension (hgct) makes committing easier.
Some third-party IDEs and GUI tools (e.g. eric3,
meld) have integrated Mercurial support.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">
No GUIs are available.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">
No GUIs are available.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
Yes, P4Win and others based on the available libp4
library.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
Cross-platform GUI for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
and other UNIXes.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">The system is GUI-based by design.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">
Very good. There are many available
GUIs: RapidSVN (cross-platform),
TortoiseSVN (Windows Explorer plug-in), Jsvn (Java), etc.
Most of them are still under development.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">
A GUI is integrated.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">
No GUIs are available.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">TFS client integrates into Visual Studio.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
No GUIs are available, but the repository has a
C++ API, and it is not hard to write one. (At
least three different project-specific ones have
been written by users at Compaq and Intel.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">
Standalone GUI comes with it, plus SCCI plug-in for
MS Visual Developer Studio. There is an Eclipse
plug-in.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h2 id="license">License</h2>
<p class="expl">
What are the licensing terms for the software?
</p>
<table class="compare">
<tr>
<td class="sys">CVS</td>
<td class="desc">GNU GPL (open source)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">AccuRev</td>
<td class="desc">Proprietary, named-user licensing.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Aegis</td>
<td class="desc">
GNU GPL (open source)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Arch</td>
<td class="desc">GNU GPL (open source)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Bazaar</td>
<td class="desc">GNU GPL (open source)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">BitKeeper</td>
<td class="desc">
Proprietary, binary only license. Pay per use license,
with an option for a costless license for developers of
open-source software. Used to have a gratis, downloadable
license, which was intended for the develpoment of open
source software. It had <a href="bk-license.html">a
problematic license</a>,
and was discontinued starting at April 2005.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">ClearCase</td>
<td class="desc">
Proprietary, with floating license supported. License
server contacted for each clearcase operation, which
obtains a license to be used for the next 30-60
mins. Prices are several $k per license plus yearly
maintenance fee. Typically 1-3 users per license
required, depending on activity. Multisite requires
additional licensing.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CM+</td>
<td class="desc"> Network licenses and user licenses. No minimum
checkout time, and automatic license checkin on idle. License
server included in product. Professional and Enterprise editions.
Enterprise includes customizations, additional applications, and
full multiple site capability. One Server license per site. Total
license cost per user typically less than $1000 + 18% annual mtce.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">CMSynergy</td>
<td class="desc">
Prices negotiable with salesman.
Server is typically roughly 20,000 British Pounds.
Clients are 4,000 British Pounds. Per-year costs of 18%
of original.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Co-Op</td>
<td class="desc">Proprietary, short text key. 30-day
full-featured trial. Free to "observers"
(members who don't make changes).
$159 per workstation.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Darcs</td>
<td class="desc">GNU GPL (open source)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Git</td>
<td class="desc">GNU GPL v2 (open source).</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">LibreSource Synchronizer</td>
<td class="desc">QPL - The Qt Public License (OpenSource)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Mercurial</td>
<td class="desc">GNU GPL (open source)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Monotone</td>
<td class="desc">GNU GPL (open source)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">OpenCM</td>
<td class="desc">
GNU GPL (open source), but moving soon to
BSD or CPL (also open source).
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Perforce</td>
<td class="desc">
A proprietary, binary only, commercial license.
<a href="http://perforce.com/perforce/price.html">Price
starting at $800 per seat for the first year</a> and then
a $160 for continuing support for the subsequent years. The
latter payment is optional and required only for support,
as the product can be used without it. Free for
Open Source projects (no support in this case).
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">PureCM</td>
<td class="desc">
A proprietary, binary only, commercial license.
<a href="http://www.purecm.com/purchase">Price
starting at $1000 for 5 users</a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">SourceAnywhere</td>
<td class="desc">Proprietary, named-user licensing.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Subversion</td>
<td class="desc">
Apache/BSD-style license. (open-source)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Superversion</td>
<td class="desc">
GNU GPL (open-source)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">svk</td>
<td class="desc">Perl License. (open source)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Team Foundation Server</td>
<td class="desc">Commercial license.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Vesta</td>
<td class="desc">
GNU LGPL (open source)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="sys">Visual SourceSafe</td>
<td class="desc">
VSS Ships with MSDN, and can also be purchased
standalone or with other tools.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>