Subversion also known as SVN is an open source version control system that helps users keep track of files and folders. SVN runs on commits to a repository when any file in the system is added, changed or deleted. These commits create numbered revisions that are easy to go back to and reference. SVN is good for collaborating with others and is also very simple to use. The following are a few of the important actions essential to SVN:

Commit

The most essential action to know with SVN is commit. This action is used when a developer makes modifications to the code, architecture, structure, or documentation. A commit contains a message that describes the changes made in the commit accompanied by the files that were changed. The message and files are sent to the server to be used by everyone with access to the project. A commit increases the revision number by one.

Checkout

To get project files, the checkout action is used. Any user who has the credentials to access the project will use this action to get the project files from the server and onto a local machine. The checkout action only needs to be used once per project to get the initial files.

Update

Using the update action tells SVN to pull the latest saved version of the project from the server and put it on a local machine. Updating before making changes allows the local machine to avoid project conflicts.

Revert

The last essential SVN action is revert. The revert command restores the state of one or more documents to a specific revision. Typically, the revert command reverts to the current revision of whatever file was reverted. The revert action cannot be undone since the revisions that will be reverted only exist on the local machine and not on the server.