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Version control

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    #1

    Version control

    Does anyone have experience with multiple developers working on the same project?

    What files can be considered portable? For example, if we have one developer working on a form, can another developer be working on an unrelated form, then import that into the master data dictionary?

    What about code & dbf files?

    Has anyone developed a system for doing this coherently? I'm new to Alpha 5, so I'm not clear on what is possible yet.

    Rick
    Tags: None
    #2
    RE: Version control

    Rick,

    To get a team working on the same applcation takes carefull planning. The work should be split up in tables/sets, by that I mean only one team can work on a table/set at a time. That means anything that goes back to a table or set. To put it another way, you cannot have one team creating forms for a table/set and another team designing a report for the same table/set. Here is the list of files and what they contain, copied from the Alpha Tutorial.pdf.

    Alpha Five Files
    An Alpha Five database can contain multiple objects, such as tables, sets, Forms,
    Reports, and Letters. Database objects, such as tables and indexes, are stored in
    associated files. The following table describes the Alpha Five database files.
    Alpha recommends keeping your database application in one directory. Alpha Five
    embeds the drive and the directory names in the database object code. If you are
    creating a database that will run on a network server, you must map your development
    drive to the assigned drive letter of the network where the application will be
    installed.

    Script Library ALB
    ALM
    ALX
    Stores global scripts, functions, custom toolbars, and menu bars.
    Table DBF
    FPT
    CDX
    Stores records (character, numeric, date, and logical field data).
    Stores memo text, pictures, OLE fields, and other field data, that
    is not stored in the DBF file.
    Stores indexes. Alpha Five stores all indexes for one table in a
    single index file.
    Data Dictionary
    Tables
    DDD
    DDM
    DDX
    Stores field rules, layouts (Forms, Browses, Reports), and saved
    Operations (queries, updates, and such).
    Data Dictionary
    Sets
    SEM
    SET
    SEX
    Stores field rules, layouts (Forms, Browses, Reports), and saved
    Operations (queries, updates, and such) defined for a set.

    I hope this explains how the structure of Alpha stores the database information.

    Regards

    Keith Hubert

    Guild Member
    London.
    Regards
    Keith Hubert
    Alpha Guild Member
    London.
    KHDB Management Systems
    Skype = keith.hubert


    For your day-to-day Needs, you Need an Alpha Database!

    Comment

      #3
      RE: Version control

      Rick,

      We're doing that. We have--we're up to four developers on our current project.

      My first advice vis a vis using Alpha 5 on a project that needs more than one developer is: don't. Use a different tool.

      -" Each programmer will end up modifying the "database" file, presuming they write scripts/functions. Ironically, this may be the least problematic issue, since one can export functions and routines--but it's also the inherent fault that keeps one from using any automatic source-control program. Considerable care must be taken to avoid losing work, and there's a human bottleneck as someone must incorporate the new functions into the main database file. Oh, AND global variables. Those can cause havoc.

      -" Each programmer will end up owning at least one table. And he'll own everything about it. That will make dividing the work up between programmers and report-writers more complex. If you have deeply interlinked tables, a person working on one table can literally hold up work on any number of other tables.

      -" Corruption. I can't explain it but you can take two perfectly working applications and copy tables from one into the other and end up with the most god-awful corruption imaginable (short of actual data corruption). We just got off a period where two of us lost about 10 man-work days trying to resolve a situation where a couple of tables from one would become completely unworkable in the other when copied over. This was not fixed by correcting our code, but by painstakingly adding-and-removing (working) elements, with slight alterations and adding them back in later.

      If you decide to go ahead with it anyway, take Keith's advice and =organize=. Organize to the point of what seems like absurdity. Make sure your programmers take lots of notes. And assign someone to integrate imported code and regression test like crazy.

      Just my .02, though based on a 18 months of hard labor.

      Comment

        #4
        RE: Version control

        Thank you both for your input, I think this is going to save us lots of headaches.

        This forum is an invaluable resource for new folks!

        Rick

        Comment

          #5
          RE: Version control

          Rick,

          Are your "teams" in the same location?? We have 4 of us developing within the same database all at the same time. Our database is on a server, and all ofus have full access to it. Each of us has different areas of responsibility, but all of our infromation is interrelated. Yes, sometines it gets confusing, but it can be worked out. If there is some core of data that is to be used in multiple other forms, reports, etc, then I would make sure that that information is how you want it. Then all the others will behave consistantly.

          Set up some sort of standard for coding, variables, and even scripts and functions.

          Create functions for commonly used tasks. This way, everyone is working with the same routines, and the behavior will be consistant.

          Common menu and toolbars are a great help. This way, users will be presented with the same look and feel. Settle on a default style for your forms and reports. Once again, for consistant presentation.

          Multiple developers in the same database can, and does work well with a little planning.

          Tom

          Comment

            #6
            RE: Version control

            No, we're geographically isolated, which makes it a bit tricky. We've been using an FTP to move stuff around.

            Those are good suggestions regarding styles and standards, that will help a lot.

            Rick

            Comment

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