The source code manager

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Overview
Principle
Setup
Use
Tips

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The source code manager

Overview

WINDEV, WEBDEV and WINDEV Mobile propose a sophisticated Source Code Manager.

The Source Code Manager (SCM), which is fully integrated in the environment, is used to:

make teamwork easier and faster,
manage the history of modifications and versions,
save the sources of the development team automatically.

Designed for teams between 1 and 100 developers, the SCM promotes and standardizes the collaboration between developers (even when developing alone, the SCM is useful because it contains the history of your applications).

The SCM uses a repository: this repository contains all the sources of the projects: procedures, classes, windows, pages, reports, components, analyses, etc.

This repository can be installed:

on a custom server (in HFSQL Classic or HFSQL Client/Server mode),
on a computer on the network, in a shared directory
on SCMDrive (paid turnkey solution). For more details, see SCMDrive.
on a PCSCLOUD development platform (paid turnkey solution). For more details, see PCSCloud.

The SCM can be run locally or remotely (via Internet). This feature enables you to work on a project from your office or from a remote site without losing any changes.

The SCM can also be used in offline mode.

Remark: In the earlier versions, teamwork was possible via the developer groupware. This technology is still available for backward compatibility but we STRONGLY advise you NOT to use it.

Principle

Setup

All project elements are saved in the SCM repository (on the server). This operation is performed when creating the project or when importing an existing project into the source code manager.

Each developer who uses the source code manager retrieves a local copy of the project.

Use

To work on a project element (window, page, etc.), the developer must check out the element from the repository, modify it and check the element back in.

If the element is already checked out, the developer can ask the person who performed the check-out to check the element back in (via the messaging software).

To benefit from the modifications performed, the other developers must synchronize their local project with the reference project (found in the repository).

For more details, see Working with the SCM.

Tips

The sources of your applications are essential.

These sources must be handled with great care!

Tips for configuring the server that will host your sources:

Use a dedicated server with a disk with enough space (at least 200 GB).
Apply all the recommendations about security to the server.
Use the Source Code Manager (SCM) in Client/Server mode, with an engine version at least equal to the one of the environment.
The tools of SCM administrator allow you to convert an SCM repository from HFSQL Classic to HFSQL Client/Server.
The hard disks may encounter physical problems: use a RAID I system on your server (several disks that store the same information).
Use a UPS to protect the power supply of your server.
Make backup copies of the repository on a regular basis (at least once a week).
Place the server in a "secure" area and use a firewall.
We recommend that you use the "Manage project check-out automatically" mode when several developers make changes to the project (project code, list of elements, etc).
Make sure that the local copy of the sources cannot be handled by external processes (anti-virus, automatic backup, etc.) during the development.
When the repository is in a CLOUD:
- check with the administrator that the TCP connections are persistent. Even if the SCM is automatically reconnected, the TCP connections must not be automatically broken every minute for example.
  Versions 19 and later
  The connections of the development platforms of PCSCLOUD are persistent.
  New in version 19
  The connections of the development platforms of PCSCLOUD are persistent.
  The connections of the development platforms of PCSCLOUD are persistent.
- in case of frequent disconnections (if TCP connections are persistent), reduce the size of packets in the tools of SCM administrator.