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diff --git a/doc/user/project/import/cvs.md b/doc/user/project/import/cvs.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..cabd0eef8d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/user/project/import/cvs.md @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@ +# Migrating from CVS + +[CVS](https://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/cvs) is an old centralized version +control system similar to [SVN](svn.md). + +## CVS vs Git + +The following list illustrates the main differences between CVS and Git: + +- **Git is distributed.** On the other hand, CVS is centralized using a client-server + architecture. This translates to Git having a more flexible workflow since + your working area is a copy of the entire repository. This decreases the + overhead when switching branches or merging for example, since you don't have + to communicate with a remote server. +- **Atomic operations.** In Git all operations are + [atomic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_commit), either they succeed as + whole, or they fail without any changes. In CVS, commits (and other operations) + are not atomic. If an operation on the repository is interrupted in the middle, + the repository can be left in an inconsistent state. +- **Storage method.** Changes in CVS are per file (changeset), while in Git + a committed file(s) is stored in its entirety (snapshot). That means that's + very easy in Git to revert or undo a whole change. +- **Revision IDs.** The fact that in CVS changes are per files, the revision ID + is depicted by version numbers, for example `1.4` reflects how many time a + given file has been changed. In Git, each version of a project as a whole + (each commit) has its unique name given by SHA-1. +- **Merge tracking.** Git uses a commit-before-merge approach rather than + merge-before-commit (or update-then-commit) like CVS. If while you were + preparing to create a new commit (new revision) somebody created a + new commit on the same branch and pushed to the central repository, CVS would + force you to first update your working directory and resolve conflicts before + allowing you to commit. This is not the case with Git. You first commit, save + your state in version control, then you merge the other developer's changes. + You can also ask the other developer to do the merge and resolve any conflicts + themselves. +- **Signed commits.** Git supports signing your commits with GPG for additional + security and verification that the commit indeed came from its original author. + GitLab can [integrate with GPG](../repository/gpg_signed_commits/index.md) + and show whether a signed commit is correctly verified. + +_Some of the items above were taken from this great +[Stack Overflow post](https://stackoverflow.com/a/824241/974710). For a more +complete list of differences, consult the +Wikipedia article on [comparing the different version control software](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_version_control_software)._ + +## Why migrate + +CVS is old with no new release since 2008. Git provides more tools to work +with (`git bisect` for one) which makes for a more productive workflow. +Migrating to Git/GitLab there is: + +- **Shorter learning curve**, Git has a big community and a vast number of + tutorials to get you started (see our [Git topic](../../../topics/git/index.md)). +- **Integration with modern tools**, migrating to Git and GitLab you can have + an open source end-to-end software development platform with built-in version + control, issue tracking, code review, CI/CD, and more. +- **Support for many network protocols**. Git supports SSH, HTTP/HTTPS and rsync + among others, whereas CVS supports only SSH and its own insecure pserver + protocol with no user authentication. + +## How to migrate + +Here's a few links to get you started with the migration: + +- [Migrate using the `cvs-fast-export` tool](http://www.catb.org/~esr/reposurgeon/dvcs-migration-guide.html) ([_source code_](https://gitlab.com/esr/cvs-fast-export)) +- [Stack Overflow post on importing the CVS repo](https://stackoverflow.com/a/11490134/974710) +- [Convert a CVS repository to Git](http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/linux-and-open-source/convert-cvs-repositories-to-git/) +- [Man page of the `git-cvsimport` tool](https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-cvsimport.html) diff --git a/doc/user/project/import/index.md b/doc/user/project/import/index.md index 67e856a97cd..cfc8e04399c 100644 --- a/doc/user/project/import/index.md +++ b/doc/user/project/import/index.md @@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ 1. [From SVN](svn.md) 1. [From ClearCase](clearcase.md) 1. [From Perforce](perforce.md) +1. [From CVS](cvs.md) In addition to the specific migration documentation above, you can import any Git repository via HTTP from the New Project page. Be aware that if the |