Getting rid of the .svn files in all directories

Question

Is there any way with subversion or any other VCS that i can keep the checked out files in the .svn directory in a different place then the directory where they "belong". For example having some toplevel /work/my-source-tree and a /work/my-source-tree-svn directory?

I know why the files are duplicated in .svn directories (fast detection of changed files at checkin and easy tool support). But i often want to do a backup of the files for example on an USB stick and transfering the double number of files is a showstopper.

Answer 1

Use svn export to copy the files to a clean directory (ie, your USB stick). It will not copy the .svn directories. This also works for working copies:

svn export <path-to-working-copy> <destination-directory>

Answer 2

With CVS, SVN and other version control systems, you can do an export. This allows you to get a copy of the code without the .svn or other hidden directories.

SVN Export documentation