VSS General Question

[irasmith]

I have noticed in some of the marketing information for VSS 2500 that it is what they call project based rather than file based. I have not used VSS before and so I am a little bit confused as to the benefits of this particular claim. Could someone expond upon this a bit for me?

I have also been looking at Subversion, and Open Source product, and it apparently has a following in the VS.NET community, at least enough for someone to develop an Open Source plugin for VS.NET that permits use of Subversion from wtihin VS.NET.

So I am just curious about the differences between these two systems and would appreciate input from those of you who have used VSS. I have not ruled out using it myself, excpt that for a single developer it is a rather expensive solution to purchase. I have a MSDN Professional subscrption and at that level VSS is not included so it would be something extra I would have to purchase if I were to use it.

 

[Nerseus]

If you only need 1 license, Id suggest the source control system by Perforce. Its usually quite pricey but, from what I hear, quite good. Its free for up to two people - you can download it directly from them.

Ive used VSS for years without any troubles at all. Its not the best, I hope, but Ive certainly not encountered the troubles that others have talked about. Ive used it because it came free with MSDN Universal (not sure what its called now - universal is the older name I believe).

Ive heard good things about subversion as well though I cant say anything - no personal experience with that.

-ner

 

[irasmith]

I believe the former MSDN Universal subscription translates now into one of several Team System products from MS. Team System I believe has its own form of source code control system. From what I gathered in reading the information on the VSS 2005 product description, it sounded as though it was to be used for non-Team System product lines.

The only thing stopping me from taking the plunge with VSS is that with my MSDN Professional subscription it did not come as a part of it so I would have to buy it separately. Its price when bought separate is pretty steep, well I think $500 or so is steep, and so that it why I am considering Subversion from the Open Source arena instead.

Since my initial posting of the message here, I have been doning quite a bit of reaidng in the Subversion on-line book (well I downloaded it rather than hook up to the Internet each time I want to do some reading) and I am finding that Subversion will likely handle my needs just fine.

Thanks for the input on the other souce code control system. I looked it over and it does seem pretty good. They are doing something similar to what Sorucegear is doing with its Vault product. You can download and use a one user license (or two in the case of the system you suggested) at no cost and then any additional licenses would need to be purchased.

 

[mskeel]

There is no reason to buy source control software. CVS or Subversion are perfectly fine for nearly every project. I am speaking from experience on projects of all sizes. The open source support is great, the tools themselves are great. You will not be disappointed -- plus, anyone can use it, not just one or two users, or users who have paid for a license. So, if your project ever grows or you need to collaborate in the future, youll have no issues.

And this goes for everybody out there -- whether you are working on a team of 1 or a team of 1000, no matter how big or small your project is, put your code under source control. Its free with CVS or Subversion, so there is no reason not to.

 

[irasmith]

Mskeel,
Very good words of wisdome well worded.

I personally have had some folks comment to me, keep in mind they are individual developers like myself and so are the only coders where they are located, that they didnt need a source code control system since they were the only programmer. The thought expressed was that since they were the only programmer there was no worry about conflicts and multiple person updates to keep squared away.

My comment to them, which tended to leave them speechless, was how they went about handling new development on a project while the current released version was maintained and bug fixed?

When I purchased my VS.NET 2005 Professional MSDN subscription at the beginning of the year, I had hoped that VSS would be included as it had been in past Professional level subscriptions. That was not to be the case as with the 2005 product line the inclusion of VSS was placed only in the highest levels of the subscriptions.

I have read through some postings ont he MSDN forums where others who were actively using VSS with versions of VS.NET prior to 2005 were surprised and saddened at the removal of the product from the professional level product line.

While I too was a bit saddened over the way it turned out, I began looking for alternatives since I am just entering the MSDN subscription and cant afford the premium level packages. I have worked with SourceGear Vault some and found it to be a very good solution which is available at no charge for a single user license.

What sparked my interest to look at further alternatives was that my own curosity about Subversion got the better of me. I am just starting to work with it but at this time feel it will certainly meet my needs.

I tend to agree that even if you are a single developer, you still should use a source code control system of some kind. It makes your life so much better in dealing with on-going development while maintaining current released products.