Setup VFP and VSS workareas and QC areas 1

[jabhawk]

My company is starting to roll VSS out for use with VFP 6.0 (soon to be 7.0). My question is with the setup of the VSS project so that a stand alone EXE build workarea can be created for QC purposes.

We are starting with our smallest project (30 files plus a database)and have been able to setup the system for the developers workareas by creating new folders and joining the VSS project.

I need to have a workarea in a network folder that may or may not contain a VSS controlled VFP project.

Does anyone have ideas for the setup or know of a whitepaper that explains it in simple terms? I have read the Essential SourceSafe book but it did not answer all my questions.

Jonathan Black
GAF Materials Corp

 

[mdav2]

When you set up a VSS database you can have as several developers using the same files at once. If a developer checks out a specific file to work on he can then build a test executable without effecting any of the other users with his changes. If the developer then decides his changes are OK then he can check it back in and other developers can get the updates by updating their projects. Similarly, if the developer decides the changes are not right then they can simple undo the checkout and revert to the sourcesafe version.

As for a white paper on setting up VSS and VFP I found that all the information on the web and books was pretty poor and worked it all out myself.

It is fairly easy to pick up.

first create a project in VSS the directory structure should mimic the directory structure you are using in live. Ensure Multiple checkouts is selected in the options.

Now simply create a blank VFP project or use an existing one and use the join sourcesafe project. This is assuming that the tools, options, project tab has been selected and source control set to sourcesafe. Other developers can then join the project using the same option from the file menu.

Hope this is useful

 

[CRubio]

VSS Help may not be the greatest but it does explain certain topics pretty well. Of those topics, the concepts of Pinning, Sharing, Labeling, and Shadow directories come to mind for your problem.

You said that you have a small project with 30 files plus the DB. My suggestion would be to:

1. Create the original project for your developers.

2. Add all of the files plus the DB (if required) into it.

3. Create a QC replica of the Developers project except "Share" all of the files in it with the Developers project (thereby not increasing the size of the VSS DB needlessly).

4. "Pin" all of the files in the QC Replica to an appropriate milestone revision in the Developers Project.

5. Label the QC Replica at the project level (recursively if necessary) to capture the milestone with a label.

6. Create a work directory on your server for the QC Project. This will become the Shadowed Folder.

7. From VSS Admin assign the work area as the "Shadow" folder for the QC Project. This work area will remain at the current version of the QC project, no matter how far along the Developers get in coding. Note that in the work area only the files in the QC project will be under VSS control (and will be read only), all others can be added by the QC'ers as they wish.

8. Allow your QC personnel to work from that work area (the QC Project Shadow Folder).

9. At a new milestone revison of the Developers project, simply unpin/repin the QC project to the new developers version and relabel. The process then starts again (ie QC can work out of Shadow without being affected by the developers, until the time is right). QC can always get back to a validated version by simply doing a recursive "get" on the Label from their project. VSS recognizes which files were pinned and remembers the versions all from the Label.

Anyway This works for us! hope it helps you.

 

[jabhawk]

CRubio, thanks for the info. You broke it down to the right level for me to follow. I still havn't been able to get that VSS class into my schedule and need all the "dumming-down" I can get.

 

[CRubio]

Glad to be of service! Hope it works out for you. Update the thread with your results if possible.