How do you implement file versioning when saving edits to a document?

Question

ICSM Computer · Answer

To implement file versioning when saving edits to a document in C#, you can save each new version of the file with a unique name or in a versioned folder. This avoids overwriting previous versions and allows rollback or audit history.
Basic Versioning Strategy
Option 1: Save with an incrementing version number
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        string baseFileName = "report";
        string directory = @"C:\Docs\";
        string extension = ".txt";
        string[] existingVersions = Directory
            .GetFiles(directory, $"{baseFileName}_v*{extension}");
        int nextVersion = existingVersions
            .Select(f =andgt; {
                var name = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(f);
                var parts = name.Split("_v");
                return parts.Length == 2 andand int.TryParse(parts[1], out int v) ? v : 0;
            })
            .DefaultIfEmpty(0)
            .Max() + 1;
        string newVersionPath = Path.Combine(directory, $"{baseFileName}_v{nextVersion}{extension}");
        File.WriteAllText(newVersionPath, "New version content");
        Console.WriteLine($"Saved: {newVersionPath}");
    }
}
Option 2: Save using timestamp-based names
string timestamp = DateTime.Now.ToString("yyyyMMdd_HHmmss");
string filePath = $@"C:\Docs\report_{timestamp}.txt";
File.WriteAllText(filePath, "Versioned content");
Advanced Ideas (Optional)
Store a manifest file tracking version history.Add metadata (like username, edit reason) in a sidecar 
.json or in file comments.Keep a max of N versions (auto-delete old ones).Use a database or Git-like system for serious version control.
Summary:
Strategy
Example Filename
Notes
Incrementing numbers
report_v3.txt
Easy to read and manage
Timestamps
report_20250513_153000.txt
Avoids duplicates, reflects timing
Content hash/version ID
report_ab12cd34.txt
More advanced; useful for deduplication
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How do you implement file versioning when saving edits to a document?

ICSM Computer

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1 Answers

Basic Versioning Strategy

Option 1: Save with an incrementing version number

Option 2: Save using timestamp-based names

Advanced Ideas (Optional)

Summary:

Liked By

Strategy	Example Filename	Notes
Incrementing numbers	`report_v3.txt`	Easy to read and manage
Timestamps	`report_20250513_153000.txt`	Avoids duplicates, reflects timing
Content hash/version ID	`report_ab12cd34.txt`	More advanced; useful for deduplication