a9a896a4_SVN_vs_CVS_quick_comparison__SVN
[#] 1 [Compared item] Repository format [CVS] CVS is based on RCS files of versions control. Each file connected to CVS is an ordinary file containing some additional information. It is quite natural that the tree of these files repeats the file tree in the local directory. Thus, with CVS you should not be anxious about data loss, and you can easily correct RCS files if necessary. [SVN] 
The basis of SVN is a relational database (BerkleyDB) either set of binary files (FS_FS). On one hand, this settles many problems (for example, concurrent access through the file share) and enables new functionalities (for example, transactions at operations performance). However, on the other hand, data storage now is not transparent, or at least is not available for user interference. That is why the utilities for "curing" and "recovering" of the repository (database) are provided.
SVN vs CVS quick comparison
SVN