A concurrent version system (CVS) is an open-source software configuration management utility designed to manage different versions of the same software project in a specialized repository. Each and every independent software module is developed and constantly upgraded for performance as developers discover new and effective means to improve the efficiency of the software module. CVS manages different versions of the module so that if a future version encounters some defects, a past version can be referenced and used.
Software developers need to maintain a lot of documents associated with a software project. The process of efficiently managing so many resources is a cumbersome task. Often, a module may be superseded by an improved version, which may have a more effective algorithm or less dependency on other modules. If the advanced module is unsuccessful, the developer needs to switch back to the old module. Hence, parallel management of both modules is essential. This feature can be accomplished by a repository or a special type of database that can store software-related data. However, it has to track the changes made by each developer and resolve conflicts when several developers are working on the same project. This is why CVS is required.CVS is based on client/server architecture. Developers input program versions through the client API of CVS, while the server stores the versions in a repository located on the server side. The client/server access is an interprocess access, if both are on the same machine. Otherwise, CVS is accessed via the Internet or intranet, depending on whether the organization is global or local.
CVS servers are supported primarily on UNIX and Windows operating platforms. CVS clients can be executed on any platform. Several developers can simultaneously modify the same program file; however, only the latest version of the program file is maintained by the CVS server. The client automatically tracks and includes the changes made by other developers, even when the program is being modified by the current developer.
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