Dis-advantages of not using Teststand source control feature.

[Gary_H]

I'm in the process of creating a Workspace file for our project, primarily because we want to use the Teststand Deployment Utility.

Included in this process is the choice to use Teststand's source control features.

So far we have been using Microsoft's Source Safe application directly to provide source control with no problems.

But now, having tried to incorporate Teststand's source control feature, which utilises Source Safe, I find myself getting bogged down in a tedious and time consuming process which I feel will eventually cause more confusion and errors than it prevents.

If we choose not to put the files in Source Control when the Workspace file is created, do we run the risk of problems at a later stage ? 

Thanks.

[SercoSteve]

We are using Source Safe standalone and are having no problems.  Our system uses TestStand 3.1 Engine and Standalone LabView 7.1.

We are getting bored of the TestStand 'Do you want to add files to Config Control' dialog boxe, it would be nice to be able to turn those off.

Steve

[James_Grey]

I'm not sure if this is the prompt you are referring to, but have you tried unchecking  Configure>>Station Options>>Source Control>> Prompt to Add to Source Control When Inserting File into Workspace?

[SachaE]

Hi Gary,

  there's no "risk" as such, however by not useing some sort of source code control or configuration management, you are making a definite commitment that you will not roll back to a previous version, and you'll be doing your own backups, and making sure that if several people require access to a particular file at the same time, that only one person is going to be allowed (by agreeing to it) to modify the file.

There's nothing that says you have to go through the TestStand sequence editor and the other workspace and projects to do the source code control.

If you prefer, then use Visual Source Safe as a stand alone interface, and check out the files by hand to your local drive, and then work on them, and then check them back in once you're finished.

Of course, you have to make sure that your relative and absolute paths are correct when you do check out the files.

By going through the TestStand sequence editor to check in and check out files, it's more convenient for most people, since they don't have to dive around two environments (TestStand and VSS) to get to the point of being able to modify a file, or even find out if someone else is modifying it.

Hope that helps.

Thanks

Sacha Emery
National Instruments (UK)