Feature Suggestion: Transparent Local Version Control System for Documents

JordanN · #1 13th November 2009, 05:12 PM

I tried to create an account at the FedoraProject, but the system isn't cooperating. So, I figured I'd post my idea here, and see what folks thought of it. Maybe someone will be kind enough to post it to the official suggestion page.

I think a version control system should be integrated by default into the user's documents directory. Any time a file is saved, the app would check to see if there is another file by the same name, and if there is, make a hidden copy of the previous version with name such as ".filename.[datestamp]" . This would be similar to what gEdit already does, but at a broader level.

A more robust system would include controls for watching more directories. It would also show comparisons with previous versions of the document. Being file based, it wouldn't care if unneeded backup files are destroyed.

If file space is an issue, backup files would only contain the differences between the next and previous versions. This would mean, however, that back-up files would be useless if a few are irretrievable.

Obviously, users would be able to turn this app on or off, if they don't need/desire this feature.

Thoughts?

pete_1967 · #2 13th November 2009, 05:57 PM

CVS/ Subversion/ Git/ Rsync etc., freedom of choice. Just create repo and you got incremental version control from the moment you commit it. Most apps already have their own "backup" feature that works independent of where the file is saved to. Your idea wouldn't bring much benefit to the mix.

JordanN · #3 13th November 2009, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pete_1967

CVS/ Subversion/ Git/ Rsync etc., freedom of choice. Just create repo and you got incremental version control from the moment you commit it. Most apps already have their own "backup" feature that works independent of where the file is saved to. Your idea wouldn't bring much benefit to the mix.

Subversion is overkill and way too complex for this. I want a transparent system that works without special effort by default.

Edit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmyersturnbull

Also, file space could become an issue quickly with your implementation.

This feature would be most beneficial to new users—the kind of users who don't know how to use Subversion or Git.

The program would be set by default to have different levels of backup for different file types. Text and Doc files would be small, and could have 2 or 3 trailing full backups. Larger files might use the diff method instead.

The idea would be to make it configurable, with sensible defaults. Users can tweak the settings from there to fit their individual needs.

Edit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmyersturnbull

This feature might enthral new users but might confuse and frustrate experienced Fedora users who are new to it. Another issue is that many users don't use ~/Documents for their files (many users use /data, and I actually use ~/documents). I'd say this feature should be disabled until a user chooses to enable it, what directories to enable it for, whether to include binary files, and a maximum file size to set.

This is why I suggested the Documents directory as the default. New users would likely use that directory, and would gain the most benefit from this program. This could be a "Wow, this is AWESOME!!!!" feature for new Fedora users.

Advanced users might not want it in the way, and would likely use a different directory anyway. Thus, it would have no negative effects for advanced users, as wouldn't be in the way until they decide to apply it to a specific directory of their choice.

dmyersturnbull · #4 13th November 2009, 06:12 PM

This idea definitely has potential.

As a user

, I am almost never concerned about losing documents by accidental deletion, in part thanks to my trash bin and "rm" being aliased to "gvfs-trash". I don't accidentally delete documents. The prospect of losing a document via overwriting is more concerning. Also, file space could become an issue quickly with your implementation.

This feature might enthral new users but might confuse and frustrate experienced Fedora users who are new to it. Another issue is that many users don't use ~/Documents for their files (many users use /data, and I actually use ~/documents). I'd say this feature should be disabled until a user chooses to enable it, what directories to enable it for, whether to include binary files, and a maximum file size to set.

Subversion would be a good choice, but it would need to delete the history when the main file is deleted.

Quote:

Most apps already have their own "backup" feature that works independent of where the file is saved to. Your idea wouldn't bring much benefit to the mix.

I disagree completely. The fact that most apps have their own, different backup feature is a sign. Users shouldn't need to learn 40 different custom implementations for a singular feature. Also, many programs that need to save files don't have a feature like this.

Quote:

CVS/ Subversion/ Git/ Rsync etc., freedom of choice.

This feature would be most beneficial to new users—the kind of users who don't know how to use Subversion or Git.

pete_1967 · #5 13th November 2009, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmyersturnbull

I disagree completely. The fact that most apps have their own, different backup feature is a sign. Users shouldn't need to learn 40 different custom implementations for a singular feature. Also, many programs that need to save files don't have a feature like this.

Good luck trying to get vendors to drop their backup system for their particular software because Fedora has this "automagic" one or talk Microsoft into using the Windows version of said backup program so that Open Office files get backed up.

Back to square one: There already are several ways to backup your files, from my preferred version control systems to point and click ones such as FWBackup, this would be just one more and in no way better than already existing solutions but heck of a lot more irritating if it was installed and running by default.

Dies · #6 14th November 2009, 05:47 PM

Well, I'm kind of split on this one, I mean on the one hand I think it's a good idea and would probably be a great feature for those who want it. On the other hand I'm not one of those people and I also have to agree with pete that it would annoy me if it was installed and enabled by default since it would be just one more service for me to turn off or remove on every install.

And of course, this being Fedora, 1000 other packages including the kernel would depend on it.

RahulSundaram · #7 14th November 2009, 06:20 PM

Hi,

Btrfs has filesystem snapshots and when it becomes default for Fedora sometime in the future, say Fedora 15 or so, you will get the benefits without the overhead.

http://btrfs.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Main_Page

jpollard · #8 14th November 2009, 07:13 PM

What you are asking for is a file system with versions (see VMS).

Quite doable via FUSE. A pain in the butt to implement - google for svnfs or cvsfs.. tarfs (this one is read-only though)
Each of these mounts a repository onto a directory. From a cursor read-over it looks like your idea has been implemented.