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What I’ll cover NeedConceptsBest practicesSome tools
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Source Control
What technical communicators need to know
About me
What I’ll cover
NeedConceptsBest practices
Some tools
What is source control?
A system for managing changes to source code
I’ve deleted a file by mistake.
Someone has overwritten my
changes!
Before you can go on holiday, can you
leave us all your files?
Who changed this file? Why?
Who’s got the latest version of this file?
Where are the graphics files we used
for this topic?
I need to find the files we sent to the translators.
The developers have pulled this feature. Can we undo the documentation
changes?
Why don’t we use it?
“I’ve made it a policy never to touch source control as I still don’t really understand how it works!”
Do you need it?Multiple authors
Many small components
Multiple concurrent
versions
Documenting software Unless . . .
Can you manage without it? Sole
authorFew
componentsClear
process
Reliable backups
Instead of SC, you could . . .
The basics
• CommonRepository
• PersonalWorkspace
Adding files
A1
B1
C1
Alice
Change list
Comment
A1B1
C1
Bruno
Changing existing files
A1
B1
C1
Alice
A1B1
C1
A1B1
C1A2
C2
CommentComment C2D1
D1
A2
Change list
Alice
C1
A1A2
D1
Bruno
Synchronising changes
A1
B1
C1
B1
A2
C2
D1
A2
C2B1
D1
C2
Best practices
Use comments
Keep unrelated changes separate
Synchronise frequently
C2
A3B4
Deleting files
A3A1 A2
B2B1 B3 B4
C2C1
D2D1 D3
Alice
D3
A3A4(A2)
Reverting changes in the repository
B4
A3A1 A2
B2B1 B3 B4
C2C1
D2D1 D3
Alice
D3D4
A4(A2)
B5(B1)
C4(C2)
D5(D1)
B5(B1) C4
(C2) D5(D1)
Concurrent changes and merges
A3
D4
Concurrent changes - example
Bruno
A1 A2
B2B1 B3 B4
C2C1
D2D1 D3
D4
B4
A3
D4
B4
A3 A4
A4
!
Alice
Merge example
A3
D4
Merging concurrent changes
Bruno
Alice
A1 A2
B2B1 B3 B4
C2C1
D2D1 D3
D4
B4
D4
B4
A3 A4
3A4
!A3
A5
A4
A5
Merge with caution
Not foolproof
Some files don’t
Different from software But . . .
Best practices - merging
Avoid merges for some files!
Minimize concurrent
changes
Merge little and often
Consult others if necessary
Check the results
Baselines
A3
Baseline example
A3A1 A2
B2B1 B3 B4
C2C1
D2D1 D3
D4
B4
Alice
D3
A2
D1
C2B1
Beta
BetaBeta
Branching
Concurrent released versions
• Permanent
New features • Temporary
Branching in action
D1C1B1
D1C1B1
D1C1B1
Trunk
Feature/Development Branch
Release Branch
Best practices - branching
Propagate from release branches promptly
Merge to feature branches regularly
What belongs in source control?
Sources
Not auto-generated outputs
Choosing a tool
The choices
Free or paid for
Hosted or self-hosted
Front end
Centralised or Distributed
HAT integration
Some source control tools• Free, CLI + limited GUI• Several GUIs, SourceTree is freeGit
• Free, CLI only• Several GUIs, TortoiseSVN is freeSubversion (SVN)
• Free for small teams, CLI only• Several GUIs, SourceTree, Tortoise Hg are freeMercurial
• Microsoft• Free for small teams, includes GUI
Team Foundation Server (TFS)
• Free for small teams, includes GUIPerforce
• IBM• Enterprise, not free!
RationalClearCase
© Marjorie Jones 2015Artwork © Martin Jones 2015
E: [email protected]: @titch990W: https://nfasa.wordpress.com/
Resources
There is a comprehensive list of current source control tools here:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_revision_control_software
To request the handout that accompanies these slides, email [email protected]
