Tim has already described how to schedule tasks and features in Part 3 of the series. This blog will build on this to show how you can reschedule a task or feature. This is one of the major benefits to using features – you can choose which version the feature will be completed in.  For example you might start a feature in Version 1 thinking it will only take a week. The developer working on the feature will submit changes to the feature. If you realize it will take longer than expected you can move the feature to Version 2. Because the developer only submitted changes to the featur... [More]

In the last blog Tim described how a developer works with tasks to complete small units of work. I will follow on from this to discuss how a developer works with larger pieces of work. My Features We have already introduced the concept of a feature and described when a manager should create a feature as opposed to a task. So lets assume a manager has already assigned a feature to you. After a feature has been assigned to you it will appear in the ‘Workspaces’ view under ‘My Features’. From here you can: Open a workspace for the feature. This will allow you sele... [More]

This blog is an introduction to creating projects, versions and releases using PureCM 2010. Creating a Project   The first thing you need to do is create a PureCM project. A project is a self-contained set of files. You can share files between projects using components, but this is too big a topic to discuss here. Launch the PureCM GUI and go to the Projects View. Right-click the ‘Projects’ tree item and select ‘New Project’. Here you can specify a name and description for your project Creating Versions   A project will contain one or more versions. How... [More]

The 2010/1 release of PureCM was packed full with so many new features that it is easy to overlook some of the more important ones. So I wanted to focus on one of the new features I am really excited about – features. Working with Features   To create a feature in PureCM open the Projects view, right-click a version and select ‘New Feature’.  From here you will specify the name of the feature and a description. You can see a video of this on the PureCM website. To start working on the feature go to the My Workspaces view and select ‘Add Workspace... [More]

Any code you write should be submitted within 24 hours. If you have made changes to code on any of your projects which has not been submitted in the last day then you need to read this. Back to Basics   Let’s recap on why it is importance to check code in frequently: ·        Your changes are safe – so they won’t be lost if your laptop breaks. ·        Other people can take over your work – if you have to go on emergency leave. ·       ... [More]

Browsing through the PureCM User Guide or looking on our website you will soon come across a list of PureCM’s big features – the features that sell PureCM. However, it is often the smaller day-to-day features which can make you love a tool or hate it. Here is a list of 5 ‘hidden’ features in PureCM which I find useful. Opening Explorer for a Workspace Folder I use read-only workspaces for developing because I like to constantly keep track of what files I am changing. This works great most of the time because I am using Visual Studio with the PureCM Enhance... [More]

Introduction 2009/1 is only just out of the door but the developers at PureCM have been working on the 2009/2 release for over 3 months now. Some of the big features which you will hear about over the next  few months include our new Visual Studio plug-in and Explorer plug-in. This blog looks at our new ‘Projects’ view. Some of this functionality will find its way into the 2009/2 release but it will not be finished until the 2010/1 release. All functionality is subject to change – but this blog should give you a feel for the direction we are taking PureCM. ... [More]

The problem PureCM was originally designed to help software developers work together to share their code and facilitate parallel development. The last ten years has seen a huge rise in web development which brings with it new ways of working. Although PureCM can be used to store any type of data, if not set up correctly web developers might feel they are fighting against PureCM to work the way they want. This blog outlines some of these different ways of working and how PureCM can be set up to complement them. Multi-User Workspace SCM best practices will always advocate having a ... [More]