I just asked a rtm worthy question about SVN. I’ve used SVN for several years and I manage several repositories used for different projects; apparently, I’ve been managing to get by with my simplistic mastery of SVN’s client app.
How do I get to the next level (of effective SVN workflow)? How do I learn to master the app when I don’t, in person, know anyone who can coach me and give me pointers. Are there any resources (besides the manual and it’s examples) to help me learn to use it beyond the basics (showing me why/when I would want to employ advanced commands etc.)?
Join an open source project. You will learn a lot about how they use a version control system to manage their releases, such as tagging/branching/merging, and the like. That’s how I learnt to use CVS ten years ago, from looking at the OpenBSD release process. 😛
Of course, these days few projects still use CVS; you’ll likely be learning about Subversion, Git, or Mercurial.