Re: Revision Control

[Liam Gumley <Liam.Gumley(at)ssec.wisc.edu>]

Bernard Puc wrote:
> Has anyone out there experience developing IDL applications in a team
> environment?  I am looking for examples, best practises, etc. of
> revision control tools specifically used with IDL development.  Any
> pointers, information, tips, clues, etc. greatly appreciated!

I'm quite fond of CVS (Concurrent Versions System).

Brief description: http://www.cyclic.com/cyclic-pages/overview.html
Short tutorial: http://www.cyclic.com/cvs/doc-blandy.html
User's Guide: http://www.cyclic.com/cvs/doc-cederqvist.html
Where to get it: http://www.cyclic.com/cyclic-pages/howget.html

The only advice I'd offer is to minimize the number of RCS keywords (CVS
is a front end to RCS) you use in your IDL source files. CVS maintains
all revision control information separate from the file itself. I
typically only use the $Id$ keyword. In addition, if you'd like to track
versions of your IDL source in SAVE'd files, just put the $Id$ keyword
in a string, e.g.

rcs_id = "$Id$"

and then when you .COMPILE the routine and SAVE it to a file, the
version information is embedded. You can then use the RCS ident command
to find the keyword information inside the SAVE'd file.

Cheers,
Liam.