Subversion is more than just a tool for tracking changes in your code. It can be a cornerstone of an effective release engineering strategy, offering features that facilitate a smooth transition of code from development to production. Here, we’ll explore two techniques you can employ: utilizing revision numbers and creating tags.

Most people who have dabbled in Subversion are familiar with revision numbers. Let’s say you make a commit and your code becomes “revision 1234.” You can then export this specific revision to your development environment for testing. Once it passes your rigorous checks, it’s off to the QA environment for further scrutiny.