Version Control with Subversion

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Appendix C: WebDAV and Autoversioning

Here are the new concepts and methods introduced in basic WebDAV:

New write methods

Beyond the standard HTTP

PUT method (which creates or overwrites a web

resource), WebDAV defines new

COPY and MOVE methods for duplicating or rear-

ranging resources.

Collections

This is simply the WebDAV term for a grouping of resources (URIs). In most

cases, it is analogous to a directory. You can tell something is a collection if it

ends with a trailing /. Whereas file resources can be written or created with a

PUT

method, collection resources are created with the new MKCOL method.

Properties

This is same idea present in Subversion—metadata attached to files and collec-

tions. A client can list or retrieve properties attached to a resource with the new

PROPFIND method, and can change them with the PROPPATCH method. Some prop-

erties are wholly created and controlled by users (e.g., a property called color),

and others are wholly created and controlled by the WebDAV server (e.g., a

property that contains the last modification time of a file). The former kind are

called dead properties, and the latter kind are called live properties.

Locking

A WebDAV server may decide to offer a locking feature to clients—this part of

the specification is optional, although most WebDAV ...