Using JavaSVN
The JavaSVN Open Source library is used in several projects for interaction with Subversion. Projects that use JavaSVN include Subclipse, SmartSVN, and Atlassian JIRA. JavaSVN is a pure Java Subversion client library.

In the following example I use JavaSVN to access the Subversion repository from a ColdFusion application. It achieves a very simple task: It reads the latest revision from a file in the repository called "test.htm."

The JavaSVN library must be accessible to ColdFusion so I copied javasvn.jar to the Directory "C:\CFusionMX7\wwwroot\WEB-INF\lib\."

Example: getLatestRevision
First we have to initialize the library:

<!--- initialize the library to work with a repository for DAV (over http and https) --->
<cfset CreateObject
("java", "org.tmatesoft.svn.core.internal.io.dav.DAVRepositoryFactory").setup()>

The configuration part is easy; we define the URL to the repository, the user credentials, and the file path:

<!--- configuration --->
<cfset sRepUrl = "http://rocket/svn/projects/trunk">
<cfset sUser = "">
<cfset sPasswd = "">
<cfset sFilePath = "test.htm">
<cfset oSVNURL = CreateObject("java", "org.tmatesoft.svn.core.SVNURL").parseURIEncoded(sRepUrl)>

Next we create a repository driver object and authenticate the user:

<!--- create an SVNRepository driver object --->
<cfset oSVNRepository = CreateObject("java",
"org.tmatesoft.svn.core.io.SVNRepositoryFactory").create(oSVNURL.parseURIEncoded(sRepUrl))>
<cfset oAuthManager = CreateObject("java",
"org.tmatesoft.svn.core.wc.SVNWCUtil").createDefaultAuthenticationManager(sUser, sPasswd)>
<cfset oSVNRepository.setAuthenticationManager(oAuthManager)>

Finally we get the file using the method getFile() and dump the latest revision number for this file:

<cfset oSvnFileprops = CreateObject("java", "java.util.HashMap")>
<cfset oBaos = CreateObject("java", "java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream")>
<cfset oSVNRepository.getFile(sFilePath, JavaCast('long', -1), oSvnFileprops, oBaos)>

<cfset latestRevision = oSVNRepository.getLatestRevision()>
<cfdump var="#latestRevision#">

Please consult the JavaSVN documentation, it contains several other excellent Java samples.

Conclusion
The switch from CVS to Subversion was quite easy because of the excellent tools and documentation available. I hope that this article contains some useful information for developers wanting to switch from CVS or some other version control system to Subversion. Maybe it will help to convince your boss that Subversion is the right choice for your team.

Resources

• Subversion Project http://subversion.tigris.org/
• Subclipse Plug-in http://subclipse.tigris.org/
• Tortoise Client http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/
• SVNImport, Subversive Plug-in www.polarion.org and http://polarion.org/projects.php
• Mere-Moments Guide to installing a Subversion server on Windows http://excastle.com/blog/archive/2005/05/31/ 1048.aspx1ClickInstallerhttp://svn1clicksetup.tigris.org/

• Version Control with Subversion http://svnbook.red-bean.com/
• Pragmatic Version Control Using Subversion (Mike Mason)