Branches and Tags

One of the fundamental features of version control systems is the ability to create a new line of development from the main one. This new line of development will always share a common history with the main line if you look far enough back in time. This line is known as a branch. Branches are mostly used to try out features or fixes. When the feature or fix is finished, the branch can be merged back into the main branch (trunk).

Another feature of version control systems is the ability to take a snapshot of a particular revision, so you can at any time recreate a certain build or environment. This is known as tagging. Tagging is especially useful when making release versions.

In Apache Subversion™, there is no difference between a tag and a branch. On the repository, both are ordinary directories that are created by copying. The trick is that they are cheap copies instead of physical copies. Cheap copies are similar to hard links in Unix, which means that they merely link to a specific tree and revision without making a physical copy. As a result, branches and tags occupy little space on the repository and are created very quickly.

Provided that nobody ever commits to the directory in question, it remains a tag. If people start committing to it, it becomes a branch.