TortoiseCVS is a CVS client for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

released under the

GNU General Public License The GNU General Public Licenses (GNU GPL or simply GPL) are a series of widely used free software licenses, or ''copyleft'' licenses, that guarantee end users the freedom to run, study, share, or modify the software. The GPL was the first ...

. Unlike most CVS tools, it integrates into Windows'

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

by adding entries in the contextual menu of the file explorer. Therefore, it does not run in its own

window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent ma ...

. Moreover, it adds

icons An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, saints, and angels. Although especially ...

to files and directories controlled by CVS, giving additional information to the user without having to run a full-scale stand-alone application. The name is a pun on the words shell (

computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, hardware and softw ...

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

). The

tortoise Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...

in the logo is called Charlie Vernon Smythe (CVS). The project was initiated by Francis Irving when Creature Labs employed him to develop a better interface to CVS for his colleagues. Some of the code was derived from WinCVS and CVSNT. The first release was on 4 August 2000.

Criticism

TortoiseCVS will always add the argument "-c" to most CVS operations when communicating with a CVS server. This causes standard non- CVSNT servers to fail, as they are not aware of this argument.

Ports and forks

* TortoiseSVN, a similar tool for use with

Subversion Subversion () refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to sabotage the established social order and its structures of Power (philosophy), power, authority, tradition, h ...

, is inspired by TortoiseCVS * TortoiseDarcs, a similar tool for use with Darcs, derived from TortoiseCVS * TortoiseBzr, a similar tool for use with

Bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

, is inspired by TortoiseCVS and TortoiseSVN * TortoiseHg, a similar tool for Mercurial * TortoiseGit, a port of TortoiseSVN to Git using msysgit * Git-cheetah, a similar tool for use with Git * Dubbelbock TFS is a similar tool for use with

Team Foundation Server Azure DevOps Server, formerly known as Team Foundation Server (TFS) and Visual Studio Team System (VSTS), is a Microsoft product that provides version control (either with Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC) or Git), reporting, requirements ...

References

External links

* Concurrent Versions System Free version control software Free software programmed in C++ Windows-only free software Version control GUI tools Software that uses wxWidgets {{windows-software-stub