The Subversion project released the first publicly available release candidate for the 1.6.0 release on Friday Feb. 20.  You can download the source for this release candidate from the Subversion project on tigris.org.  The release notes for the 1.6 release are still being assembled but you can follow the latest state of the document from the project website.

As we did with the Subversion 1.5.0 release, CollabNet is providing binary packages of this release candidate to make it as easy as possible for the community to evaluate the release and provide their feedback.  You can download binaries for Windows and Linux right now.  We will be adding Solaris and OSX binaries soon.

Follow this blog for more entries on specific features in Subversion 1.6.  There are several new features as you can see in the release notes.  The biggest new feature is arguably the support for tree conflicts.  This will need a separate post of its own to explain, perhaps more than one.  For those that cannot wait, I can only point to the folder with the notes the developers were keeping on the feature.  Not all of those files represent what finally went into the feature so keep that in mind and keep an eye out for more posts.

When the Subversion project first launched, it was blessed to have something that many much older projects still lack: a clear direction. It would have been easy — and certainly the temptation existed — to try to make Subversion all things to all people. Why settle for "a compelling replacement for CVS" (which was the goal at the time) when we could shoot for "best-of-class version control"? "Next-generation SCM solution"? "All that and a bag of chips?" Here's why: so the developers could get anything accomplished at all. It's as the old Proverb says (though admittedly in a different context), "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Without a single, clear sense of direction, you're left either meandering about with no sense of direction at all or (worse) stalemated by N senses of opposing directions. So how do the leaders of an open source software project choose a direction and set goals? And where do you, the reader, fit into all of this? Read on.

This is actually old news now, but Subversion 1.5.1 was released a few weeks ago.  As with just about any .1 release, I highly recommend it, and if you were waiting to upgrade, now may be the right time.  CollabNet has refreshed all of its binary packages, so go get 'em.  Judging by the download numbers we have seen, most of you have figured this all out already.

There are a few enhancements in our packages based on feedback from users.

For our Linux RPMs, we discovered that the package auto-dependency feature was causing our RPMs to advertise that they provide a number of libraries.  However, given that our package installs into a private location, this is not a good thing, as it can prevent other packages from properly installing the dependencies they need.  So we have fixed this, and re-released our 1.5.1 RPMs.  Current version should be 1.5.1-2.  64-bit RPMs can be obtained here.

For our Solaris packages, we discovered that we were depending on some external packages that we did not intend to.  One was SMCiconv and the other was SUNWlibsasl.  The former was particularly bad since it comes from sunfreeware.com and not Solaris.  Our build images all have this package installed because it comes with the gcc build we use from that site.  Consequently, we did not pick up on this in our testing.  Anyway, we have fixed this so that we now provide our own builds for APR-ICONV and SASL as we do on Linux.

For our Windows installer, the main thing we had to deal with was upgrading a server from either 1.4.6 or 1.5.0.  Since the two versions used different versions of Apache it took a while to nail down the way we wanted this to work.  We have it right now, and the installers were posted yesterday.

Finally, on OSX, we were using the libsasl that comes with OSX.  This turns out to have some problems that prevented the svn+ssh protocol from working.  We have fixed this problem by building and including our own versions of the SASL library.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback on the packages.  It is not as easy as it sounds to get these things right across several operating systems.

We have had a lot of people request that we provide RPMs for 64-bit Linux.  As of today, you can now download those RPMs from our Subversion "community" downloads section:

http://www.collab.net/downloads/community/

CollabNet hosts two kinds of Subversion downloads.  Our "CollabNet Subversion" binaries and "Community" binaries.  The CollabNet Subversion binaries are built and certified by CollabNet and we provide commercial support and SLA's for those binaries.  The community binaries are essentially binaries we have created but have not certified and we do not provide any SLA for them.  We certainly provide help in our discussion forums and we have even made changes to the binaries in the past based on comments we receive from the community.

We do intend to add 64-bit Linux support to our official CollabNet Subversion binaries.  We just are not ready to do so yet.  Once we add a package to CollabNet Subversion it falls under the SLA we provide our customers, and so we cannot add a package until we are ready to provide that level of support.  In the case of 64-bit Linux we have to make sure the necessary hardware is in place, in sufficient quantity, across all areas of the company that need access to it in order to provide our SLA to our customers.

CollabNet engineering has been preparing 64-bit RPMs since early in the Subversion 1.5 development lifecycle, and we of course did so when 1.5.0 was released last month. With so many users requesting 64-bit binaries, we have been looking for a way to deliver these RPMs to the users that need them.  The community download site gives us this opportunity, just as it did when we wanted to provide the community with binaries for OSX.

The RPMs carry the branding of CollabNet Subversion and are identical in packaging to our 32-bit RPMs.  Again, this is because we are preparing for the day when they will be added to our officially certified packages.  If you are experiencing any problems or difficulties with the packages, please post to our discussion forum.

The first set of our binaries for CollabNet Subversion is now available.  Specifically, the RPM's for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.  You can get them here:

http://www.collab.net/downloads/subversion/redhat.html

These are certified to run on all 32-bit versions of RHEL 4 and 5.  In my experience, they run fine on any version of Linux that allows you to install an RPM.  I have even used them successfully on Ubuntu and Debian by using the alien package, which allows RPM to be installed on Debian systems.

Starting with this release of CollabNet Subversion, our Linux RPM's are now signed.  You can (and should) download and import the GPG key they were signed with.  This was something several of our customers had asked for.  See the readme for the Linux binaries for details and instructions.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we plan to have the Windows binaries available next week.  Currently it looks like they should be available sometime on Monday.  The Solaris binaries will be posted around the end of the week.

We are pretty excited about this release of the binaries.  We put a lot of effort into improving them and what we include in the packaging.  Here are some highlights:

• Standardized set of dependencies across platforms.  Apache 2.2.8, APR 1.2.12, Neon 0.28.2.  Our Windows binaries initially went out with Apache 2.0 so we wanted to wait for Subversion 1.5.0 to make the switch.  There are upgrade considerations in moving from Apache 2.0 to 2.2 that Windows users will have to consider.
• ViewVC included!  This is the biggest feature.  Not only do we include ViewVC 1.0.5, but we configure it for you automatically (if you ask us to).  It has never been easier to integrate this excellent tool into your environment.
• Python bindings are included.  These are needed for ViewVC, but also allow you to use hook scripts that require the bindings, such as the commit email hook script.
• JavaHL bindings are included with the client.  This makes it easier than ever to use JavaHL on all supported platforms, which means it is also easy to use the CollabNet Desktop and our exciting new Merge Client.
• SASL support is included in the client and server.  This is a new feature in 1.5.  There is not a lot of information out there on how to build and include it.  We have figured it out though, and include it in our package.
• We package the svn-populate-node-origins-index program so that you have the tools you need to migrate existing repositories to Subversion 1.5.
• As always, we provide packages using the native packaging format for each operating system.

These are the main enhancements I can think of, but we have been working on these improvements throughout the Subversion 1.5 life-cycle.  Those of you that participated in our Beta program have likely already experienced some of these new features and seen the packages evolve over the life of the program.  Probably the biggest benefit of our packages is that we test and certify the entire stack that we provide to you.  We do this so that we can provide the level of support that our customers ask for and so that we can be confident that we can deliver on the SLA that we provide to our customers.

Anyway, look for those Windows and Solaris binaries next week.  Also, stay tuned for some additional major new enhancements we will make to the packaging over the course of the summer.  That is all I will say for now, but details will be coming out as we roll out these enhancements.

I am pleased to announce that Subversion 1.5.0 was released today.  It has been a long journey to get to this point, but I think the final result will be worth it.  Subversion 1.5.0 is the biggest release since 1.0 and begins a new chapter in the project's evolution.  An event this big probably calls for some profound comments and reflection.  Perhaps, I or others, will make some at some point in the future.  Unfortunately, for myself, and a lot of people at CollabNet, the release means a lot of work and activity.

We have put together a page with links to lots of resources and information about the release:

http://www.collab.net/products/subversion/subversion15.html

I'd particularly urge you to checkout the training materials that have been created for this release.  While Subversion 1.5 is compatible with older clients and servers, to take full advantage of all the features, particularly merge tracking, there are some steps you need to take.  The training courses we have created cover these issues and can help guide you through the upgrade process.

Probably the number one thing people are looking for is binaries.  I assure you they are coming.  CollabNet's binaries are certified and that process cannot begin until the official release is made.  So our team is hard at work building and certifying the binaries.  The tentative certification schedule is:

Linux: June 20
Windows: June 24
Solaris:     June 26

There is a pretty good chance that the Windows client will be available sooner.  I will add a new blog post once the Windows binaries are posted.  BTW, the OSX binaries are ready and just waiting for the web site to be updated.  Those binaries are not certified so can be released sooner.  A lot of us at CollabNet, myself included, use them for our daily work though.

Binaries of Subversion 1.5 - Release Candidate 9 are posted. As I wrote last week, this Release Candidate does not reset the soak period. An API issue was already discovered in RC9 and RC10 will likely come later this week. RC10 won't reset the soak period either, so we are still looking at a likely Subversion 1.5 release next week. As always: unless a showstopper is found.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know the drill: please download the binaries and test the latest Subversion 1.5 Release Candidate. You can ask questions and report issues in our forum.

This morning we posted binaries of the Subversion 1.5 Release Candidate 8 (RC8). Compared to RC7 this release candidate contains a few translation updates and an API compatibility fix that does not affect the command line.

Another release candidate with minor changes might come. Yesterday RC9 was proposed (based on build r31577). RC9 fixes a potential issue in the working copy when you checkout with the new –-depth feature. RC9 is “out for signatures,” meaning that the Subversion developers are voting whether or not to release it. We’ll keep you updated.

Considering that the changes in RC8 and RC9 are minor and unlikely to destabilize, the Subversion developers decided not to restart the soak period (the time to test a Release Candidate before it is called the final release). So, unless users find showstopper bugs, Subversion will probably release next week or the week after.

You can download RC8 binaries from openCollabNet (Windows, Red Hat Linux, and Mac OS X). Please test RC8 and report any issues in the forum.

Btw: The release notes for Subversion 1.5 are nearing completion. You can view the Subversion 1.5 release notes on Tigris.org. A full list of SVN 1.5 changes is available as well. Neither of these documents is final of course.

Subversion 1.5.0-rc7 was released today.  As with all the previous milestones, CollabNet  provides binaries for various operating systems for you to try the release.

This is expected to be the final release candidate and the official 1.5.0 release should happen in roughly 10 days if all goes well.  Bugs reported on this release candidate will likely be addressed in a 1.5.1 or other follow-up release.  Exceptions might be bugs that are considered serious regressions or API incompatibilities.

Fixes included since the last rc are fairly minor.  They were mostly documentation fixes in the code and some minor bug fixes.  Probably the most significant change was to the new API for including arbitrary revision properties in a commit.  During review of this API it was decided that there was a cleaner way to implement it, and so a change was made before the release became final.  Since it is a public API, once it is included in an official release we would have to support it until the 2.0 release, and this was deemed significant enough to get it in before the release is public.  This API change also led to a number of corresponding changes in the JavaHL API and the other language bindings.

As with the previous release candidates, we appreciate your testing and feedback.  A number of bug fixes have been made since the 1.5.x branch was created that came from users who tested these early releases.

Earlier this week, the Subversion community issued an RC5 release with the latest round of fixes. As we have done with previous releases, CollabNet is providing binaries for Windows, Linux, OSX and Solaris. The CollabNet Merge client and Subclipse have both been updated as well.

Here is a list of some of the noteworthy fixes I see (in order they were backported):

• r30741
  Fix bug whereby 'svn status --depth=files' still showed some dirs.
• r30743, r30751
  Fix memory leak in recursive remote propget.
• r30776, r30777, r30779
  svndumpfilter drops mergeinfo when it is *not* run with --renumber-revs.
• r30666, r30684, r30726
  Fix for issue 3181. Compare repository UUID with working copy when opening RA session
• r30761, r30762
  Fix for issue 3172. 'log -g' fails the moment it encounters a bogus mergeinfo which claims a merge from a non-existentpath@REV1-REV2.
• r30820
  Fix pool issue which definitely can lead to assertion failures in reintegrate, and quite possibly to other mergeinfo corruption.
• r30868, r30871
  In svnserve, tolerate unreadable passwd files. Don't error over svn+ssh:// when the user can't read passwd.
• r30843
  Fix abort in ra_serf when server sends invalid xml during replay.
• r30907
  Fix for issue 3185. Fix the 'log --limit' compatability code in ra_svn, ra_serf, and ra_neon to ignore nested logs when in '-g' mode.
• r30883, r30888
  Fix issue 3187. Fix reverse merges where merge target or subtree has non-inheritable revision ranges intersecting with the merged range.
• r30931
  Remove 'blind deletion of argument to mkdir --parents', delete only if this invocation has created it.
• r30896, r30905
  Make Cyrus SASL client support DIGEST-MD5.
• r30986
  Fix potential segfault in svn_io_remove_dir2(path='.').
• r29191, r29398, r29833, r30663, r30963, r30964
  Improve the responsiveness and accuracy of 'svn log -g'.