Best way to utilize single codebase for multiple web sites

Question

What is the best method for utilizing a single code base for multiple websites?

We have validation and session management libraries that we use on multiple websites. Is there a best practice for keeping a single copy rather than having to maintain updates of local copies for each website?

Answer 1

If you are using subversion, you can branch your common code and use svn:external to keep an up to date version (or a specific tag) of the common code in your repository. (http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.0/ch07s03.html)

Other SCM systems may have similar features.