SVN is a version control system which can facilitate installation and upgradation of scripts like bbPress, WordPress etc & make them really easy. Apart from the ease in maintenance, it also helps in saving a lot of time as compared to traditional methods of uploading files via unsecured FTP session.
Installing and updating just requires issuing single line commands. Before you continue, you would need SSH shell access to your hosting account. If you don’t have it, then ask your hosting partner so that they can get you one. I would recommend using Putty as your SSH client.
Visit http://svn.automattic.com/bbpress/ and there you can see options for tags (stable versions) and trunk (latest development copy). To choose the version, browse under the tags and there you can select the version of your choice.
To install bbPress 1.0.2
svn co http://svn.automattic.com/bbpress/tags/1.0.2/ .
Similarly, to install the latest dev version from trunk
svn co http://svn.automattic.com/bbpress/trunk/ .
Note the dot after the URL, it is mandatory to install it just under the present working directory. If you omit it, then it will be installed in a sub directory under the present working directory. So get to the root of the directory where you want to install bbPress and issue the command.
Now open the location in your browser and you will be prompted by the installation screen. Now you can proceed ahead just like the regular installations.
If you want to integrate with WordPress, you can read the WordPress bbPress integration guide.
Similarly, to update your installation
svn up
That was easy. Wasn’t it? Have your say in the comments!
If you go to the root directory of your site, you can do something like:
svn co http://svn.automattic.com/bbpress/tags/1.0.2 forum-directory/
(as you said above) When it comes time to upgrade just go into forum-directory/ and issue:
svn info
to get the current information of where your repository is pointed. After that just switch to the next stable tag, e.g.
svn switch http://svn.automattic.com/bbpress/tags/1.0.3
That makes sense for tagged versions but I remember upgrading WordPress installations by just
without switching it again.