Is source code available?

... but one that saves time and prevents mistakes.

mkdir -p /usr/local/src/{archive,test,whatever}

will create all directories necessary that don't exist and then expand the stuff in brackets and create them also.

Habitually backing up files before editing them will save you a lot of heartache in the long run too. It's easier if you make an alias to replace your common editor command to automatically back up the file.