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This chapter introduces the recommended code management solution for UNIX, CVS (Concurrent Versions System). We also introduce an alternative that is currently being used by a couple of Fermilab experiments, UCM (UNIX Code Management)[83]. Both packages use RCS (Revision Control System) as the underlying protocol. We provide basic information only, and refer you to the complete manuals for these utilities for detailed information.
RCS provides a version control system with which you can record the history of your source files. An RCS file contains multiple revisions of text, an access list, a change log, descriptive text, and some control attributes. Only the differences between versions are kept.
CVS and UCM implement the RCS features differently, but both assume availability of RCS commands. CVS allows concurrent development, whereas UCM was created to replace CMS (a VMS source code management system) and implements the same sequential development philosophy of that system. Both systems provide easy extraction of either a release version or the latest version, and they allow you to create tags for release versions of the software.
See Code Management under the Software Development heading on the UNIX Resources Web page for more information. Alternatively you can search the on-line product documentation database for CVS, product number PU0189, or UCM, product number PU0254.