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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-06-17T14:23:48+00:00

Currently we are using a process that tags a code base as production code

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Currently we are using a process that tags a code base as production code in CVS and then normal development proceeds. Commits to trunk and new tags can occur but the prod tag cannot be changed until a production release, at which point the tag for the prod release becomes the new prod tag. So whenever the production code is needed, the prod tag need only be checked out. The prod tag is basically acting like the trunk head in a more traditional dev process.

We are now moving to SVN and the plan was to keep the current method. I was wondering what the best/standard way to maintain a production tag for a particular code base in SVN is? Is it possible to create a single tag that is never changed until a new production release, where the production code would be merged into the tag? The ability to have a history of production tags only would be nice too.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Bad news for you: you’ll have to change habits. Tags is Subversion are (conventionally) immutable, i.e relation URL-OF-TAG <-> Revision doesn’t (must not) change during lifetime of project.

    You can:

    1. Ignore convention and re-create PROD tag every time on release. i.e
      • Create PROD first time svn cp REPO/TRUNK@R1 REPO/tags/PROD
      • On every next release svn rm REPO/tags/PROD & svn cp REPO/TRUNK@RN REPO/tags/PROD
    2. Use any path in repo outside trunk as branch (mutable subtree) of special purpose: “MergeTo Only” and merge to this PROD released code
      • Create PROD first time svn cp REPO/TRUNK@R1 REPO/PROD or ... REPO/branches/PROD
      • On every next release merge trunk (or release-tag or HEAD of version-branch) into PROD
    3. Use externals
      • Create PROD first time: add at some place (notes from p.2 are applicable) “Virtual Folder” using svn:externals to some point (of tree and history) in repository (I’ll add PROD to the branches, will use propset on the trunk-root) svn propset svn:externals . branches/PROD REPO/TRUNK@R1 & svn ci &svn up
      • On every next release: change definition of external resource for PROD svn propedit svn:externals . (in the root of trunk again) and replace (interactive, in text-editor) REPO/TRUNK@R1 to new path (for easy automation propedit can be replaced by propdel + propset)
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