Have you ever written something on a computer, modified part of it, and then after it's too late to hit the undo button you realized that you liked what you had before? Well, then, Subversion may be for you.

Subversion is a source control tool, which is a fancy computer science-y way of saying "it's a thing that keeps you from losing you old stuff, no matter how bad you think it is right now, because you might later decide that it was rather good, and wish to use it again."

Subversion, like its predecessor CVS, is an open source tool, which means that if you're software savvy, you can modify it yourself instead of having to write a trouble ticket and wait for Uncle Bill or Uncle Steve to send you a patch. Or, you can submit a trouble ticket to the Subversion community, and get a patch ASAP, or at least a workaround until the problem is investigated and a solution is at hand.

But that's me rambling on and on about the best source control tool in existence. Let's talk about the definitive book published about it (published by the best computer book publisher in existence): Version Control with Subversion.

This book will take you on the grand tour of Subversion, showing you the palace as well as the dungeon (though if you want to explore the dungeon further, they give you a map, 'cause otherwise the book would be 10 times larger). When you're done with this book, you'll be able to start doing version control, which, if you use computers to write ANYTHING is a must-have, since computers (and users) have a high probability of losing important files from time to time.

Does this mean that everybody should start using Subversion? Well, not really. If you are not a programmer or otherwise computer savvy, you may find using Subversion akin to swatting a fly with a neutron bomb. There are plenty of free and proprietary programs out there that automatically generate backups of what you're doing so you don't lose that vital data.

If you are gung-ho about quality software, or even quality prose and know your computer inside and out, then you may find Subversion to be the right neutron bomb for your particular flies.

Recommended for software configuration management personnel everywhere, because, yes, there is a better way than what you're using, unless, of course, you're using Subversion. Not recommended for people who patently avoid the computer book area of the bookstore, unless it's to find a quiet corner to read the latest volume of Death Note. ( )