Apache Subversion

Apache Subversion (often abbreviated SVN, after its command name svn) is a version control system. The software is distributed as open source software, under the Apache License. Software developers use Subversion to maintain current and historical versions of files such as source code, web pages, and documentation. Subversion is generally used to aid in the software lifecycle process, including code commits, binary releases, fault reporting and retraction, patch releases, and developer updates (including documentation). Subversion is an important tool in software development lifecycle tasks such as software versioning. It provides an easy command line or application-based way to commit, branch, revert, and release all sorts of files (not only source code), though it is most used by the software development community. Unlike Git, which it predates, SVN repositories are more often maintained on privately maintained servers. Subversion's goal is to be a mostly compatible successor to the previously more widely used Concurrent Versions System (CVS). The open source community has used Subversion widely: for example, in projects such as Apache Software Foundation, FreeBSD, SourceForge, and from 2006 to 2019, GCC. CodePlex was previously a common host for Subversion repositories. Subversion was created by CollabNet Inc., and first released in 2000. Subversion was a top-level Apache project being built and used by a global community of developers and contributors.