I have been working with the same Subversion working copy as a sub-directory of my local server’s htdocs folder for months now. I was working in PHPDesigner7 and managing my repository with TortiseSVN. As I am the only one working, I just commit and keep working without any real need for multiple checkouts or updates.
I recently moved from PHPDesigner7 to Eclipse for my every day IDE. I have created a project and used my working copy root as the location. I have been writing all my code in eclipse for about six weeks now, and it seems like it would be much easier to do SVN operations within the IDE. I want to start integrating SVN into my Eclipse workflow, but I want to keep my working copy in the same place it has been. There are a lot of files like Adobe Bridge index files and Docblox configuration files that I do not keep under source control, but are still important to my tools. If I create a new checkout these files will not be present. I also like being able to do local server testing directly from my working copy.
How can I use my existing working copy from within the Eclipse IDE? I have installed Subclipse, but I set my eclipse project up before I decided to try switching SVN management to the IDE. Is it as simple as making my workspace the same as the working copy? I have just been using the Eclipse default workspace. Would I be better off with a fresh Eclipse project? Are there any caveats I need to be aware of when moving from Tortise to Subclipse? I especially wonder if Subclipse does many small commit operations, or if I can continue making fewer heavily commented larger commits? Does anyone prefer the subversive plugin? If so why?
The root directory of your eclipse project should be the root of your working copy. Then you just have to right-click on the project and choose Team – Share Project, and follow the tutorial. At some point Eclipse will ask you if you want to keep the existing .svn files or not. Just choose to keep them.
The workflow in Eclipse is exactly the same as with any other SVN client. You update and commit when you want to. And you may also continue using TortoiseSVN to perform your SVN operations if you prefer. You’ll just have to refresh your eclipse project after each operation.