Subversion switch: How to see which branch is current

svntortoisesvn

We're experimenting with Subversion as a possible replacement of our current Starteam 2005 SCM, (so our SVN knowledge is limited at the moment :-)).

I've been experimenting with the switch command (using the TortoiseSVN client) and was surprised that, after I switched my local trunk folder to a certain branch there is no way to see which branch I switched to last. Or at least I can't find a way to ascertain that.

Am I doing something wrong here by switching a local trunk folder to a branch? How can I see which branch the current local trunk-folder is referring to?

Best Answer

Though a couple of correct answers have already been provided, I want to point out that there are several more techniques one may use to see where you are in Subversion. Here is the complete list:

Windows Explorer -- Windows Explorer has the flexibility to add columns from a large set of choices beyond the standard name, size, type, and modified date. Right click on the column headers bar, select More from the context menu, then scroll down to the SVN choice. SVN short URL is the best choice for this question since it begins the path with either trunk or branches. Requires TortoiseSVN installed. Caveat: Available in Windows XP but not later ones (Windows Vista, Windows 7, etc.). Sigh...

SVN location from Windows Explorer

TortoiseSVN Revision Graph -- The revision graph is apparently not well known but is a great visual tool for answering many questions, including this one. You have to enable the display of the current revision with the indicated button in the tool bar. Once you do that, TortoiseSVN adds a bold line around the current version of the object you are examining, whether on the trunk or a branch. Caveat: TortoiseSVN does not always find the current version. As I was preparing this illustration, it did not highlight anything in the graph when I was on the branch.

SVN location from Revision Graph

TortoiseSVN Repo-Browser -- Open the repo browser on a file or folder and examine either the URL at the top or the path in the left hand navigation pane. (Any other TortoiseSVN dialogs displaying a URL will show the information similarly as pointed out by @fsonmezay.)
File properties -- From Windows Explorer or equivalent, open the standard file properties dialog--not the TortoiseSVN properties! Then select the Subversion tab to see all the information available from the command line, including the URL that indicates trunk or branch in the path. It requires TortoiseSVN to be installed (previously mentioned by @Cedric).

SVN location from file properties

Command-line -- svn info or svn info filename provides details of your current directory or specified file, respectively, including the URL that indicates trunk or branch in the path (previously mentioned by @Cedric).

SVN location from command line

Related Solutions

How to create a branch

Create a new branch using the svn copy command as follows:

$ svn copy svn+ssh://host.example.com/repos/project/trunk \
           svn+ssh://host.example.com/repos/project/branches/NAME_OF_BRANCH \
      -m "Creating a branch of project"

What do “branch”, “tag” and “trunk” mean in Subversion repositories

Hmm, not sure I agree with Nick re tag being similar to a branch. A tag is just a marker

Trunk would be the main body of development, originating from the start of the project until the present.
Branch will be a copy of code derived from a certain point in the trunk that is used for applying major changes to the code while preserving the integrity of the code in the trunk. If the major changes work according to plan, they are usually merged back into the trunk.
Tag will be a point in time on the trunk or a branch that you wish to preserve. The two main reasons for preservation would be that either this is a major release of the software, whether alpha, beta, RC or RTM, or this is the most stable point of the software before major revisions on the trunk were applied.

In open source projects, major branches that are not accepted into the trunk by the project stakeholders can become the bases for forks -- e.g., totally separate projects that share a common origin with other source code.

The branch and tag subtrees are distinguished from the trunk in the following ways:

Subversion allows sysadmins to create hook scripts which are triggered for execution when certain events occur; for instance, committing a change to the repository. It is very common for a typical Subversion repository implementation to treat any path containing "/tag/" to be write-protected after creation; the net result is that tags, once created, are immutable (at least to "ordinary" users). This is done via the hook scripts, which enforce the immutability by preventing further changes if tag is a parent node of the changed object.

Subversion also has added features, since version 1.5, relating to "branch merge tracking" so that changes committed to a branch can be merged back into the trunk with support for incremental, "smart" merging.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

How to create a branch

What do “branch”, “tag” and “trunk” mean in Subversion repositories

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