CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javasvngithubversion-controlwebserver
user3621633
user3621633

Reputation: 1721

How do I integrate source version control with a web server?

I understand the concept of source version control and how it applies to self-contained projects like a Windows application. But for web development, most files are stored on the web server. This has become a headache for development with many people just copying and renaming files and then pushing files over to production is another mess.

I need some kind of source version control that is relatively not too difficult to learn and must be GUI-based or have a GUI as an option. The people who will use this have little or no knowledge of the command line.

How can I integrate source version control with web server files? What software is available for such an endeavor? And is it possible to have the source version control software administer both the production and development web servers or I may only have two separate source version control installs for each web server and manually push over changes?

The web servers are Windows-based and also use Tomcat for Java/JSP.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 673

Answers (2)

Lazy Badger
Lazy Badger

Reputation: 97280

You have to split in mind two different but interacting things - Version Control and Deploy Tools:

  • VCS has to do with any evolving over time items, which you want to have under control
  • Deploy just deliver correct object into the correct place at the correct time and convert "set of something" into Product.

Deploy isn't a problem per se (almost any job can be automated), main problem in multiDEV environment (2+) with central STAGE (less with PROD) server is question of communication between Devs and synchronizing of their operations, i.e. - workflow and management:

just imagine 2 (or more) devs, performing diferent unrelated tasks, which want to test latest own (and only own) changes on common STAGING server (because they haven't functional local environment). If 1-st deploy "some WIP" on server, he don't want to have own tests be interrupted and code poisoned by deploying third-party changes. They must to communicate and coordinate actions, it can't be dumb "copy to..." in post-commit hook

And is it possible to have the source version control software administer both the production and development web servers

Yes. But VCS does not "administer" web-servers in common sense, rather it's "communicates" or "take into account"

Upvotes: 0

yogidilip
yogidilip

Reputation: 790

I think you are not clear on the idea of version control. Version control is about managing your code. It is about putting your code in a remote server (may be in a central location) and accessing it using a client tool. This way a number of people can work on different part of the code and than push their work to version control server. It has nothing do with the type of the project. The project can be a windows application, web server application or any application. While using version control, in regular intervals or whenever needed you build your code from the version control server and deploy it to the web server which means you are deploying code that is already build (a .war for a web application).

You first deploy to your development server and later deploy the same war to the production server.

You can use SVN server for your version control server and Tortoise SVN as client.

Upvotes: 3

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