Re: NaughtySVN -- Nautilus and subversion integration

["Kristoffer Lundén" <kristoffer lunden gmail com>]

On 3/11/06, Joachim Noreiko <jnoreiko yahoo com> wrote:

> We would to inform you that there is a project
> called NaughtySVN (NSVN)
> [1] which is an easy-to-use Subversion client and
> has a Graphical User
> Interface. NSVN works as an extension to the
> Nautilus File Manager. The
> inspiration of this project is TortoiseSVN. The aim
> of this project is
> to help users who are not technically oriented to
> use Subversion.

Great! This is one of the things I do know is very annoying to some friends I have that are trying Ubuntu.

Sounds like a fantastic idea!
I've used TortoiseCVS, and I find it excellent, so
bringing something like this to GNOME is great.

I have to agree, but I think there is plenty of extra work to be done to make it simpler. We've used TortoiseSVN extensively in the past, and while it is truly excellent and has helped using source control a lot, it could also use a lot of usability and "common case" improvements. "We" is mostly the school that I work at, Gamemaker, at which we use Subversion for version control for ~40 users at any given time. Of course they aren't moving from Windows anytime soon, if ever, because we teach making games, but there is lessons to be learned from observing common usage and I can compare it to commandline as that is what I use.

As it is, it mostly just maps the command line commands to a GUI, and for anything above "commit" and "update" it still seems awkvard and strange to many users. Many of the entries in the menus are rarely if ever used even by the experienced users and so probably could be removed or at least hidden deeper. At the same time, many common tasks are hard to know how to accomplish, the two that pops out immideately are:

* Import a new project - why have to import a structure from one place and then check it out someplace else? Nowadays I usualle create a remote directory, check that empty dir out to my project and then add all. That's just backwards. Import/export/checkout etc is all a bit blurry which does what.
* Revert to a revision. If you have done a huge mistake, commited it, and then wants to restore the repository, one can do some magic with copying revisions in the commandline, AFAIK there is no easy way at all in Tortoise, even though it can be done (don't remember how). That is also a common (to us) option that could have its own function.

I know there is more like these but I don't use Windows myself anymore.

I know this list isn't really the place for this kind of discussion, but I thought I'd mention it here anyways because I wanted to replay and say "great" anyways, and because Gnome developers care about usability - maybe some of them want to help if they read that there is a need. :) I really think a project like this could use usability people that optimize the workflow, that would be excellent.

> [1] http://naughtysvn.tigris.org

Unfortunately, the link doesn't work.
If you're providing binaries, I'd be interested in
testing this, as I'll be working with SVN once GNOME
switches to it and I much prefer a GUI to the command line.

The link works for me, but there is no releases yet unfortunately.

-- Kristoffer

-- 
Kristoffer Lundén
✉ kristoffer lunden gmail com
✉ kristoffer lunden gamemaker nu
http://www.gamemaker.nu/
☎ 0704 48 98 77