DITA source files are stored on disk as ASCII text files, just as are source code files for software projects. Because of this source control or library systems used to store and manage software source code can also be used for DITA source files. A source control system stores and tracks changes to source files. Multiple versions of source files are kept, and most systems have built-in capabilities to display differences between different versions of the same file.
The following table shows just a few of the many source control systems that can be used for storing DITA files.
| System name | Description |
|---|---|
| CVS (Concurrent Versions System) | Open source project. For more information, see http://www.cvsnt.org/wiki/. |
| Perforce | Commercial software configuration management system. You can download a free version for small projects. For more information, see http://www.perforce.com/. |
| Subversion | Open source project that is meant as a newer replacement for CVS. For more information, see http://subversion.tigris.org/. |