Interview Q&A

Q: What is a working copy?

A: A local directory linked to a repository URL. Checkout creates it, update syncs it with other people's commits, and commit publishes your local changes back as a new revision.

Q: How does SVN branching compare to Git?

A: SVN branches are directory copies on the server, cheap because Subversion stores deltas. Git branches are independent pointers over a full distributed history. SVN requires server access for branching, Git works offline.

Q: How do you resolve a conflict?

A: Review the conflict markers and the three backing files, edit to the correct result, then mark resolved with svn resolve --accept=working, and commit.

Q: What are SVN hooks and why use them?

A: Hooks are server-side scripts (pre-commit, post-commit) fired on events. They enforce policies like blocking commits that lack a ticket ID or sending emails after commits.

Q: When should you prefer SVN over Git?

A: When you need file locking for binaries, fine-grained path-level access control, or a strict single source of truth without a distributed workflow.

Key Points

• Working copy, commit, update and conflict are the core vocabulary.
• Branching by directory copy is SVN's classic model.
• Hooks automate policy at the server.
• Locking and path-level access are SVN advantages.