The beauty of open source is that it makes code freely available. The curse is that, without some method of organizing it, code development can devolve into chaos.

CVS, the Concurrent Version System, is an open source tool for managing source code, designed to allow multiple users to work on the same file at the same time, using a shared directory. Under CVS, multiple users can check out files from a directory tree, make changes, and then commit those changes back into the directory.

The CVS Pocket Reference is a quick reference guide to help administrators and users set up and manage source code development. This small book delivers the core concepts of version control along with a complete command reference and guide to configuration and repository set up. The book includes:

• A version control primer that teaches the general concepts of version control and how it applies to CVS.
• Instructions on how to install and configure CVS for Unix-like operating systems.
• Administrator and user sections, with complete listings of their respective commands and options for configuring and using CVS.
• Details on how to import files from RCS and SCCS directories into CVS.This Pocket Reference covers the latest version of CVS (1.10.8) and is the ultimate companion for open source developers.