Which subversive connector discovery to use

Question

After I installed the SVN plugin in Eclipse and restarted it, a message appeared asking to install a connector. There are SVN Kit and Native JavaHL connectors. I am confused which one to install and why, can any one please guide me.

Solution

The two connectors should both work, here are the differences (more from experience by using them, not by reading their source code):

• SVN Kit:
  • Works on all platforms, is a Java-only implementation (no need for DLLs or shared libraries).
  • Is a little bit slower than JavaHL Native.
  • Keeps its configuration at some other place than a real subversion client like TortoiseSVN (on windows). So if you need both, you have to keep that in mind.
• JavaHL Native:
  • Needs a shared library (DLL), that has the same major version as the installed Subversion client. So if you use SVN command client 1.6.x, you should install / use the corresponding JavaHL version.
  • Is easy to use under Windows, more difficult to find the right version for Linux or Mac OS X (see Subclipse Wiki: JavaHL
  • Is faster and uses the same configuration as the installed SVN command client or TortoiseSVN client.

So you may install both, and switch between them under Windows > Preferences > Team > SVN > SVN Connector. I have used both and did not notice much difference in my normal word, only in special circumstances. If JavaHL fits in, it is the better connector in my opinion.