How to view the version tree for a file in SVN that shows merges from branches back to the trunk?

Question

I am new to SVN, but have used Clearcase for many years.

My problem is that I have some changes in the branch that I merged back into trunk using the TortoiseSVN Reintegrate Branch function. Now, when I look at the version tree, I don’t see any edge from the top of the branch to the tip of the trunk, which I expected to see. In Clearcase, you will see merge arrows indicating the direction of the merge between the branches of the file / folder.

Is this just a rendering problem in TortoiseSVN, or is it a “merging” of just a client-side operation, and is it just seen as a regular change in the backbone, and not just a commit comment to describe the operation?

Is it possible?

Thanks,

Phil

Answer 1

For svn, a branch is just another directory, with the slight difference that it knows some story: it knows where it was copied from. When you merge a branch into a trunk, Subversion will accept all the changes that have been made to the branch since it was created (i.e., Copied), and apply all these changes to the trunk. He will remember what changes have already been merged (so it’s not entirely true that Subversion does not store anything about merges), therefore, he should not apply them again.

So, merging in Subversion doesn't mean much more than applying some of the changes here that were made elsewhere. Therefore, the idea of ​​a branch graph does not work with Subversion (and the way branch processing is most likely criticized by Subversion).

If you have a choice, you can look at Mercurial , which has usability very similar to that of Subversion, but it is much better when handling branches and merges.

If you are stuck with subversive activities, I hope I can at least give a little explanation. In addition, the SVN Book is a very good introduction to Subversion and is definitely a must-read for new Subversion users.

Answer 2

In fact, SmartSVN can display merge arrows in the version tree. Therefore, IMHO depends on the svn client you are using. TortoiseSVN does not currently do this AFAIK.

Answer 3

I do not think you can, because SVN does not store merge information. Some other version control systems like git.