WordPress via Subversion

Since around April 2005, WordPress has been available through Subversion. I knew this was coming, but didn't realize it had happened yet. As of today, my WordPress files are pulled from the repository.

I'm currently living in the 1.5.2 tag, a snapshot of the codebase taken when the developers released that version. When the next version comes out (say, 1.5.3), I run a command to update myself:

svn switch http://svn.automattic.com/wordpress/tags/1.5.3/

The new changes are merged into my old files, and I fix any conflicts. Easy.

I need to do this because of modifications I've made to the blog software. The new template system is great, but I can't get every feature I want without some hacking. With a source code control system in place, I am free to make modifications to any WordPress file without worrying that my change will be overwritten next time I update. Instead of replacing files, Subversion will merge the changes into my local copy.

Here's to progress.