The Ultimate SVN Ignore Pattern for VB.NET Solutions with TortoiseSVN

When working on a VB.NET solution, ensuring that certain files and folders do not get versioned can be crucial for maintaining a clean and efficient repository. This is particularly important when you’re using Subversion (SVN) version control in conjunction with TortoiseSVN. In this blog post, we will explore the best SVN ignore patterns specifically tailored for VB.NET solutions, helping you to streamline your workflow and avoid unnecessary clutter in your version control system.

Understanding the Need for Ignore Patterns

Before diving into the specific ignore patterns, let’s understand why we need them. An ignore pattern is a set of rules that you define to tell version control systems like SVN to ignore certain files and directories. This means that these files won’t be tracked by SVN, helping you:

  • Reduce clutter in your repository
  • Avoid versioning temporary, object-specific, or user-specific files
  • Keep your version history clean and relevant to the actual project files

Files that are typically ignored include build outputs, user-specific settings, and configuration files that should not be shared among team members.

Crafting the Perfect Ignore Pattern

For a VB.NET solution, a well-structured ignore pattern can enhance your TortoiseSVN experience. Below is a recommended SVN Ignore Pattern that has been effective for both C# projects and can be applied to VB.NET solutions with similar requirements.

Suggested Ignore Patterns

Here’s a list of ignore patterns you can use for your VB.NET project:

build
deploy
*/bin
*/bin/*
obj
*.dll
*.pdb
*.user
*.suo
_ReSharper*
*.resharper*
bin

Breakdown of the Ignore Pattern

  • build and deploy: These directories often contain compiled files that are not necessary to track.
  • */bin and */bin/*: The bin directory is where your compiled binaries exist. It’s common and usually should be ignored.
  • obj: This folder usually contains intermediate object files and should not be included in the repository.
  • *.dll, *.pdb: These extensions refer to dynamic-link libraries and program databases. Tracking them is not necessary since they’re generated files.
  • *.user, *.suo: These files stores user-specific settings and configuration that should not be shared with the team.
  • _ReSharper*, *.resharper*: If you are using ReSharper, you will want to ignore these files as they relate to ReSharper’s settings and cache.

Adding Ignore Patterns to TortoiseSVN

To implement these ignore patterns in TortoiseSVN, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on your project folder in Windows Explorer.
  2. Select TortoiseSVN > Add to ignore list.
  3. Type the patterns mentioned above into the ignore list.
  4. Click OK to confirm your changes.

After adding these patterns, TortoiseSVN will effectively ignore the specified files and directories, enabling you to maintain a cleaner version history and minimize distractions from unnecessary files.

Conclusion

Using an effective SVN ignore pattern is essential for managing your VB.NET project efficiently. By implementing the above patterns in your TortoiseSVN setup, you can significantly improve your project management processes, keeping your repository neat and organized.

Feel free to customize the ignore pattern further based on specific needs or configurations of your project. Happy coding!