[scribus] Using SVN for Scribus sla files

[Gregory Pittman]

Calum Polwart wrote:
> Calum Polwart wrote:
>   
>> Gregory Pittman wrote:
>>     
>>> Calum Polwart wrote:
>>>       
>>>> SVN on the other-hand MAY allow dual user edits - after all the file is
>>>> an XML file - so basically plain text?  There are windows GUI front ends
>>>>  for SVN - all he'd basically need to do would be click "update/commit".
>>>>  SVN would use a local file so should be quicker to work with in terms
>>>> of edits and bandwidth would only by the sla file and any other
>>>> added/edited files not every file every time.  My biggest concern (apart
>>>> from the XML not actually being "mergable" would be file names?)
>>>>
>>>> Looking for anyone who actually does this or something to achieve the
>>>> same result to chip in and tell me what they think?
>>>>   
>>>>         
>>> I wonder if svn might be overkill for this.
>>>       
>
> Do I take it as the conversation moved to editing text files out side of
> scribus - no-one
>
> (a) Thinks using SVN is a good idea
> (b) Has tried using SVN to comment if it screws up the files really badly!
>   
One thing you have to think about is the way that Scribus handles text 
(as compared with graphics). Text is internalized, graphics only ever 
just have a pointer to an external file.
The current way to communicate with Scribus about what you might have 
done to a file (text-wise) is via the .sla file. Therefore, what is 
needed, and I think will eventually be feasible, is to be able to parse 
the .sla file, extract the text and its markup, modify it, then reinsert 
or re-create the .sla file so that Scribus can reload the file.
An advantage of this, like SVN, is that can be made to be nondestructive 
of the original file, or at least preserve it as a backup.

I'm  of course not one of the devs, but it would seem that interacting 
with Scribus internally is a very complex project, whereas interacting 
via the .sla file is a more easily attainable goal.

Now a bit more to your point, Calum, there has been someone on the list 
(IIRC) that was using some kind of networking in the context of Scribus, 
but not SVN.

Greg