Get In Gear!
The biggest drawback that I experienced with Source Safe is its speed over slower connections. I often work from home while connected to the office with a VPN connection. When I start working in the morning, I usually want to get a latest version of the entire application, so I can continue working with the most up-to-date version of the application. With Visual Source Safe, I'd issue the Get Latest Version command, and then I had all the time in the world to get myself some coffee, read the paper and feed the cat. It would take ages before the application was synched over the network.
Not so long ago, I started experimenting with Source Gear's Vault. My digital friend Peter Lanoie had been recommending Vault for quite some time, but I never found the time to check it out. If only had I known.....
Using Vault is very easy. Just download the Server Edition of the program, install it and you have most of the hard work done already. After you install it, simply enable Vault as your default source control provider through the Vault client's Options dialog, start a new .NET project and choose File | Source Control | Add Solution to Source Control and follow the instructions you see on screen.
Ever since I installed Vault, my source control has been much easier and faster. In many ways, Vault looks very similar to Source Safe. It has the same features, uses the same names (most of the times; some concepts have been renamed to better suit their function) and has a similar look and feel.
However, Vault runs as a set of Web Services which is truly an amazing concept. Accessing your code through a simple Web service allows you to connect to your source from anywhere in the world. All you need is the Vault client and a network that supports port 80 and / or 443. I now find myself regularly getting a file from my home server at work, because I need some code that I know exists in an other application I have running. It also allows me to connect to my work server when I need to finish some work at night or over the weekend.
Of course such an open system needs some protection as well. Strong passwords, folder level security and SSL will help you protect your valuable sources from untrusted users.
If you're tired of Source Safe, or just want to start using a source control system, go check it out. If you're the only developer working on an application, you're in luck. The single user license of this program is completely free.
And no, I am not sponsored by Source Gear; I just think Vault is an amazing product.
Where to Next?
Wonder where to go next? You can post a comment on this article.
Links in this Document
| Doc ID | 326 |
| Full URL | https://imar.spaanjaars.com/326/get-in-gear |
| Short cut | https://imar.spaanjaars.com/326/ |
| Written by | Imar Spaanjaars |
| Date Posted | 10/21/2004 19:22 |
| Listened to when writing | Ten Storey Love Song by The Stone Roses (From the album: Second Coming) |
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