Re: A good open-source source version control system?

[Paul D. Smith]

%% Rolf Magnus <ramagnus@t-online.de> writes:

  >> If by 'a "view" mechanism' you mean ClearCase's dynamic view
  >> capability, then you'll never find that in any open source tool, or
  >> indeed in any other proprietary tool either.  That capability is
  >> unique to ClearCase.

  rm> Just out of interest: What does it do?

ClearCase dynamic views use the MVFS, or Multi-Versioned File System, to
implement workspaces.  The MVFS basically provides a "live" mapping
between a UNIX (or, I guess, Windows if you go that way) directory
structure containing directories, files, etc., and the SCM data which is
implemented in a relational database.

Creating a workspace, then, just involves defining the mapping and takes
a second or two: no copying around is involved.  Changing the version of
the code you're looking at is similarly trivial, regardless of how far
you're moving in the codebase.

The downside is it takes a lot of horsepower in the client, server, and
network to make this fast enough to be usable.

-- 
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 Paul D. Smith <psmith@nortel.com>           HASMAT: HA Software Mthds & Tools
 "Please remain calm...I may be mad, but I am a professional." --Mad Scientist
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