Monday, August 8, 2011

Configuration Management

I installed configuration management software on my home computer this weekend. The software is call subversion. Configuration management software has the ability to store previous versions of files and is primarily used by software developers so that more than one person can work on a file and then those changes can be merged back into the system. I'm using it for a hobby project, even though I'm the only developer on the project, because it allows me to make changes with less fear that I'll mess things up and won't be able to remember what I changed.

I've been reading a book. The author said that he used configuration management software for the book. I think I might try that for the book I'm currently writing. In addition to the normal text, which I should give me reason enough for configuration management software, this book will have a significant number of pictures and graphs. With configuration management software, I'll be able to modify the pictures I need to modify, save them to the same location, and then undo my changes if I later decide I prefer the original image.