use make and version control system for every project?

[Carl Banks]

Roy Smith wrote:
> Carl Banks <imbosol at aerojockey.invalid> wrote:
>> Version control, it depends.  I've used CVS for some personal projects
>> before, and can't say I've ever found it useful, and it's definitely a
>> pain to keep things up-to-date.  I recommend, for personal projects,
>> not bothering with version control at least until the project is
>> fairly stable.
> 
> I suppose this is a personal preference kind of thing, but I use 
> revision control (CVS or RCS mostly, Clearcase when they hold a gun to 
> my head) for everything, from the very beginning.  Source code, 
> documents, test notes, project plans, it all goes under revision 
> control.

Best yet, the OP should probably try it and see if it works for him.

I recommended not bothering early on because I tend to move files
around quite a bit early on (a major pain in CVS), and I suspect I'm
not the only person to do that.  But if he's the type of person whose
projects are "fairly stable" in the very beginning, by all means, he
should CVS away.

[snip]
> There's the running commentary of the checkin messages (I'm pretty
> anal about trying to keep a good checkin log).

Incidentally, this is probably greatest strength of version control
relative to frequent backups (for personal projects, of course).  It's
also a feature I've found extremely little use for.  I mean, it sounds
cool to be able to go back and see exactly when you made a certain
change, but is that really useful in practice?

I'm sorry, but my pragmatic mind tells me it's all wasted effort, a
lot of work for little benefit.  Frequent backups do well enough for
me, with far less effort, so it's what I've been moving towards.

But whatever works for you.  And, of course, the OP should try it and
decide if it works for him.


-- 
CARL BANKS                   http://www.aerojockey.com/software

As the newest Lady Turnpot descended into the kitchen wrapped only in
her celery-green dressing gown, her creamy bosom rising and falling
like a temperamental souffle, her tart mouth pursed in distaste, the
sous-chef whispered to the scullery boy, "I don't know what to make of
her." 
          --Laurel Fortuner, Montendre, France 
            1992 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest Winner