Github vs SVN
 

Our team is trying out Github for the season to allow multiple people to work on the code at once. In the past we have used SVN and have never had a problem with it. What are the PROS and CONS for Github and SVN and what does your team use?
Thanks

Re: Github vs SVN
 

First: Github is a site (that does have a client) for using a version control system called git.

Here's a good comparison of the 2: https://git.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/GitSvnComparison

In general, git can support a very branch-heavy development process more easily, and can be easier to use if you have irregular internet access (hint hint, good for at competition). Netbeans has integration for both systems too, I believe.

Re: Github vs SVN
 

We use Github and I'm a big fan of it. It's much easier to have people doing simultaneous offline development. The website is also very handy. The client is also very nice for beginners.

Re: Github vs SVN
 

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8...han-subversion
http://programmers.stackexchange.com...etter-than-git

Git = Offline, branched, good at merging, easy to manage features, non-linear
SVN = Central, "online", bad at branching and merging, linear, good at versions

Use git if you have independent workflows. Use SVN if you want everyone to follow a strict, standard workflow.

Re: Github vs SVN
 

One nice thing about GitHub is that they are offering free private repositories for FRC teams and other educational groups. Details can be found here.

As for the Git vs SVN debate, I prefer Git for the reasons already stated in the posts above mine. Git's distributed model makes it possible to host our code online and still be able to commit when offline, which is very helpful when at a competition.

Re: Github vs SVN
 

Literally the only advantage of SVN (IMO) is that it is somewhat simpler to explain and teach to a student.

Git is better in every other way, and is not significantly more complicated to use as long as you stick to a reasonable workflow.

I would probably disagree that that is the only reason. SVN is much better for using a centralized workflow. There's a reason it's still popular in commercial development. It also handles versioning much better (git tags are much worse)

Re: Github vs SVN
 

Advantage of GIT: can pull master to a local copy when away at competition with no WiFi, then catch the master back up when you get home.

This from a *long* term SVN enthusiast that is going out of his comfort zone to us Git.

Re: Github vs SVN
 

Not to hijack this thread... but I have an additional question that I think could aid in informing teams considering using git.

For teams that are using git, can you describe your workflow and what plugins you're using?

Our team has used eclipse with the egit plugin for the past two years. Honestly we aren't that thrilled with egit. Its only advantage IMO is that it's integrated with eclipse.

Our workflow is as follows, although honestly we haven't been terribly successful having everyone follow/understand it in the past. We maintain a master branch with known tested/working code, students branch master, add new functionality and push their new branches up to the repository. Mentors review the code, and make comments against the branches using github's "issues" system. Once any identified problems are resolved, and the code is tested, the students submit a merge request, and a mentor merges the code into the master branch.

I'm interested in knowing how other teams are using git/github, and what tools they are using, in hopes that we can improve how we collaboratively develop code.

Re: Github vs SVN
 

We use git, and have used Github to host our "central" repository for the past few years. We planned on using pull requests to accept new code from students, but in practice given the whacky development cycle for FRC robots it was just easier to give everyone push access.

We all just use the regular old git cli tool, no need for any messy GUIs. It really doesn't take long to learn the few commands you need so we figure it's just better to teach the students the real tool than some one-off user interface.

Another great thing about git is since you have your own repository, you can make a bunch of commits in a row while you are developing something, then squash them later into a more sane change. I find myself doing this all the time during FRC development as our robot typically takes a lot of small tweaking and testing. If you wanted to do this with SVN everyone would get all of these commits.

Re: Github vs SVN
 

We also use a shared central repository hosted on GitHub. We try to avoid working directly on the main branch, but instead work on feature branches that are eventually merged back into main when ready. This article describes the basis of our workflow. We haven't had too many students on programming for the last few years, so merging and conflicts haven't been a big issue.

As for a Git client, if I'm not working from the command line I like to use SourceTree. It's easy to use with a nice interface while still offering most of the functionality available from the command line.