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Mercurial SCM VS Apache Subversion

Compare Mercurial SCM VS Apache Subversion and see what are their differences

Mercurial SCM logo Mercurial SCM

Mercurial is a free, distributed source control management tool.

Apache Subversion logo Apache Subversion

Mirror of Apache Subversion. Contribute to apache/subversion development by creating an account on GitHub.
  • Mercurial SCM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17
  • Apache Subversion Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-27

Mercurial SCM features and specs

  • Performance
    Mercurial is known for its speed and performance, especially with large repositories and complex histories. It is designed to be fast and efficient, which makes it suitable for large-scale projects.
  • Simplicity
    Mercurial has a simpler command set compared to other SCMs like Git. The straightforwardness of its commands can make it easier to learn and use, particularly for new users.
  • Cross-platform Support
    Mercurial is a cross-platform tool that works well on a variety of operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux. This makes it versatile for development teams using different environments.
  • Strong Documentation
    Mercurial offers comprehensive and well-structured documentation which can be very helpful for both beginners and advanced users. The documentation covers a wide range of topics from basics to more complex usage.
  • Branching Model
    Mercurial uses a simpler and more intuitive branching model compared to Git. This can make branch handling more straightforward, reducing the complexity for developers.

Possible disadvantages of Mercurial SCM

  • Smaller Community
    Mercurial has a smaller user base and community compared to Git. This might result in fewer third-party tools, plugins, and resources available for Mercurial.
  • Market Share
    Git has largely dominated the market share for SCM tools. This might make Mercurial less attractive for enterprises and developers who prefer widely-adopted tools with broad industry support.
  • Tool Integration
    Some software tools and services offer better integration with Git than with Mercurial. This can limit the choices for CI/CD pipelines or other development tools that are often built with Git compatibility first.
  • Complex History Management
    While Mercurial’s simpler commands are an advantage, it can make some complex history management tasks more challenging compared to Git, which has a more powerful set of tools for such purposes.
  • Feature Lag
    New features and updates in source control management tend to appear in Git before they make their way to Mercurial, if at all. This lag can be a disadvantage for teams looking to use the latest advancements in SCM.

Apache Subversion features and specs

  • Centralized Version Control
    Apache Subversion (SVN) uses a centralized repository model, which makes it easy to manage and control all project files in one place. All history and versions are stored on the server, making backup and repository management straightforward.
  • Atomic Commits
    Subversion ensures that commits are atomic operations. This means that either all changes in a commit are applied, or none are, helping to maintain the integrity of the repository.
  • Comprehensive Authorization
    SVN offers fine-grained authentication and authorization models. It can integrate with various authentication systems and allows granular access control on a per-directory and per-user basis.
  • Binary File Handling
    SVN handles binary files more efficiently compared to some other version control systems, reducing the size of repositories and improving performance when large files are committed.
  • Mature and Stable
    SVN has been around since 2000 and is widely used in enterprise settings. It is stable, well-documented, and has a vast community for support.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Subversion

  • Limited Branching and Merging
    SVN’s branching and merging capabilities are more cumbersome compared to distributed version control systems (DVCS) like Git. Merging in SVN can be complex and time-consuming.
  • Single Point of Failure
    As a centralized version control system, the SVN repository server becomes a single point of failure. If the server goes down, no commits can be made until it is back up.
  • Performance Overhead
    Working with a remote central repository can introduce latency and performance overhead, especially with large projects and many users.
  • Less support for Offline Work
    SVN generally requires network access to the central repository for most operations. This makes it less flexible for developers needing to work offline, compared to DVCS where local copies are complete repositories.
  • Complex Repository Management
    Managing SVN repositories, particularly for large projects, can become complex and may require significant administrative effort to handle repositories, backups, and access controls.

Mercurial SCM videos

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Apache Subversion videos

Setting Up Apache Subversion on Windows

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Mercurial SCM and Apache Subversion)
Git
68 68%
32% 32
Code Collaboration
68 68%
32% 32
Git Tools
74 74%
26% 26
Version Control
50 50%
50% 50

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Mercurial SCM seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 2 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Mercurial SCM mentions (2)

  • Why so rude?
    Many people have asked me to write a blog post on my preference of Mercurial over Git and so far I've refused and will continue doing so for the foreseeable future. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Mercurial Paris Conference will take place on April 05-07 2023 in Paris France. Call for papers are open!
    Mercurial Paris Conference 2023 is a professional and technical conference around mercurial scm, a free, distributed source control management tool. Source: over 2 years ago

Apache Subversion mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Apache Subversion yet. Tracking of Apache Subversion recommendations started around May 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Mercurial SCM and Apache Subversion, you can also consider the following products

Git - Git is a free and open source version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency. It is easy to learn and lightweight with lighting fast performance that outclasses competitors.

Atlassian Bitbucket Server - Atlassian Bitbucket Server is a scalable collaborative Git solution.

GitHub Desktop - GitHub Desktop is a seamless way to contribute to projects on GitHub and GitHub Enterprise.

Azure DevOps - Visual Studio dev tools & services make app development easy for any platform & language. Try our Mac & Windows code editor, IDE, or Azure DevOps for free.

GitKraken - The intuitive, fast, and beautiful cross-platform Git client.

Perforce - Self-hosted Version Control Software