SVN or Subversion Repository – How would you set it up?

It has been a long time since I posted my last blog post. So here I am ‘populating’ my post with some information that could be of some worth to me and others in need. So without much delay, let me put down the ad hoc article on setting up svn repository. It also talks about creating a structured hierarchy for code management and also gives information on adding projects to SVN repository.

To create svn repository svnadmin command line tool is used.

$ svnadmin /home/gaurav/new_repo

To add directories to the new repository …

$ svn mkdir file:///home/gaurav/new_repo/main_project

$ svn mkdir file:///home/gaurav/new_repo/main_project/branches

$ svn mkdir file:///home/gaurav/new_repo/main_project/tags

$ svn mkdir file:///home/gaurav/new_repo/main_project/trunk

When directories are added, it asks for the commit comments.

Once the repository structure is ready, import the code like this:

$ svn import /home/gaurav/my_new_app/ file:///home/gaurav/new_repo/main_project/trunk

Following command runs svn server @ port 4444 for localhost

-r is for the repository and should be passed the repository path

$ svnserve -d -r /home/gaurav/repository/ --listen-port 4444 --listen-host localhost

Once svn server starts as a daemon, checkout can be done as:

$ svn co svn://localhost:4444/momsworld/trunk mw_0718

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Add users to your server

In order to authenticate our intended users, some changes are required to be made. Inside the new repo (c:\svn-repo or /home/gaurav svn-repo), there is a directory called conf. There you will find svnserve.conf.

You need to enable these lines in the file:

[general]
anon-access = read
auth-access = write
password-db = passwd

All other comments can be left untouched. For easy readability, I have only put the required section above.

With this setting, anyone would be able to read the files but only an authenticated user would be able to checkin. Also password-db tells server that a file named ‘passwd’ would be storing usernames and passwords.

Let’s create that file now. It should also be in the conf directory and look like this:

[users]
david = secret


Similarly many users could be added in the format NAME = PASSWORD. There are many other advanced ways to add password protection to Subversion but this one is the easiest I suppose. Subversion has good integration with Apache’s web server authentication so that could be utilized as well.

Before you REinstall windows …

So I was on my desk working when I realized that my mouse had stopped working and I dint have a spare mouse to replace it with. No problem. I had one more option. I pulled out my lappy and started it.

As soon as I got logged in, I knew there was something wrong with my laptop. It took me a second to realize that it was infected with some kind of virus. The most annoying part of the entire episode was not being able to work when I was supposed to work on something damn important. On Vista, my explorer kept crashing. It really frustrated me for some time. Playing with it for sometime made me realize that my personal computer was in bad shape.

I scanned my entire system to find only few infections which dint seem to me as potential trouble makers. So I went ahead and tried a newer version of my antivirus.

Downloaded -> Installed -> Scanned -> Cleaned. My lappy was moved from ICU to GENERAL ward. Then I checked some settings and did some tweaks to bring my PC back to life. I started trusting antiviruses again

I could get my PC back in shape without formatting my system or reinstalling Vista and hence I could save few hours reinstalling everything

It was then that I thought of writing this post. I just hope that these things will help you avoid atleast few reinstalls / fresh installs.

So before you go for a reinstall / fresh install, try these and see if it comes handy.

1. Make sure you have an antivirus installed. System scan takes time but should be performed sometimes. Your WINDOWS partition should be given preference for scanning.

2. If you come across any weird activity (slow system / popups / explorer related issues), the first place to check should be startup programs. You can see the list by typing “msconfig” in windows run dialog box. If you see entries which you had never installed, disable them and restart to check if that helps. If it does then you need to remove those programs. Uninstall / Delete the installed folder.

3. Try logging in Safe Mode to check if the system remains stable. If it remains stable, try uninstalling recently installed programs. If not, then you might be required to start from scratch, format and reinstall windows.

4. Try running some registry cleaners. Sometimes viruses create links in registry to get executed every time with system startup. Most AV programs take care of this now.

5. Do Ctrl+Alt+Del to check the running programs and system. Kill the unwanted processes. Check for processes that reappear with windows startup but were never installed or meant to be there.

6. Keep your Antivirus updated.

7. Avoid using unscanned pendrives.

8. Keep cleaning/deleting your internet history / cookies.

9. And above all, always keep a backup of your important stuff.

There are many helpful articles on the net that could / would /should help you out on some specific problem.

As long as we have PCs, we have OSs, we will keep getting infected. The problem is not infection though. The issue stays with us. Our ignorance leads to situations that make things move out of our hands.

So go get an antivirus (ur techie friends should be able to help you with it) and be prepared.

To name a few:

Norton Antivirus / McAfee / AVG / Avast / Panda

And DO NOT FORGET … You are NEXT…next to get infected…