If you scratch any software configuration management (SCM) system hard enough, what you’ll really find is a source control system. In reality, SCM and source control are basically one and the same. Having truly effective SCM is all about having good source control.
The challenge today for any software developer is the rapid pace and simultaneous development that has dramatically changed the development landscape over the past few years. Throw in the latest Agile development processes, mix in some more traditional methodologies, including XP and waterfall, and now you’ve got a real witches’ brew of development activity that can put a strain on source control.
One of the reasons we’ve developed AccuRev SCM is to provide a sound source control system. Something that enables distributed teams to communicate, collaborate, and integrate code as seamlessly and effortlessly as possible while providing full transparency to all source file changes.
So what exactly are the benefits of a source control system? Here are some main ones:
- Source control enables multiple development teams to access and share code simultaneously, enabling effective parallel development
- It enables code to be managed and protected to help ensure file integrity
- It provides a way to label, or version, a chunk of code — even whole sets of code — so that a complete file history can be maintained for faster, more effective development and revision
- It helps with change management so that new software versions or added functionality can be tracked and approved
As a source control system, AccuRev SCM really helps developers by providing process visualization, drag-and-drop SCM automation and issue-based workflow using something we call “streams” – a type of architecture that’s a sort of “intelligent” branching. This type of architecture provides outstanding source control because each stream contains every file for a specific source code configuration. This, in turn, makes branching and merging easier, even in a distributed, parallel development environment. This streamlined architecture enables teams to store their work and test it before sharing it so that merging code becomes a lot easier and safer.
With a good source control system, you’re able to accomplish some pretty amazing stuff. We’ve found that AccuRev SCM can:
- Improve Agile/hybrid process project collaboration
- Improve software asset reuse
- Accelerate time to market
- Lower total cost of ownership
- Accelerate the software development process by 30%
Efficient, optimized software development starts with solid SCM, and that means a good source control system.
