Version control with JAZZ.net an d WINDOWS explorer

Hi Roland,

with RTC 2.0.0.2 the latest release it is possible to use the Web UI for basic SCM. Provided the user has a developer license available he can download and lock a file on the stream, change, upload and unlock again.
Please see https://jazz.net/downloads/rational-team-concert/releases/2.0.0.2?p=news section Share and manage documents through the web UI.


With respect to 2 it might be possible to use the build capabilities to automatically load data periodically to some server directory.

BTW there is also the commandline SCM tool that could potentially be used for something like this.

Ralph

Hello.
For the the Jazz.net based source control you need to deal with eclipse to change files under source control. That is fine for software engineers.
In our projects many other people have source controlled files (e.g. purchasing lists, manual test procedures, approval documents). They have no glue of eclipse and it is not their job to get knowledge in eclipse.
Clear Case has a integration with the WINDOWS explorer. You can check in / out files directly from the windows explorer and I can create snapshot views on a server which look like normal server locations to "non clearcase users" - good enough to make the documents available to be read by "non software" guys.
So two questions
1. Is their a way to offer basic check in / out /add to source control functionality to the WINDOWS explorer, so that you do not have to start eclipse to use those basic feautures.
2. Can I post "snapshot views" of a repository workspace on a server location and update that in regular time intervals -so that all WINDOWS user can see the content without eclipse?


Roland

There is a work item requesting a Windows Explorer integration for RTC
source control: work item 43272.

But for now, your best bet is the one suggested by Ralph ... use the new
Web Browser SCM UI (note: you need to point the web browser at a stream,
not a repository workspace).

Cheers,
Geoff

RolandMueller wrote:

Hello.
For the the Jazz.net based source control you need to deal with
eclipse to change files under source control. That is fine for
software engineers.
In our projects many other people have source controlled files (e.g.
purchasing lists, manual test procedures, approval documents). They
have no glue of eclipse and it is not their job to get knowledge in
eclipse.
Clear Case has a integration with the WINDOWS explorer. You can check
in / out files directly from the windows explorer and I can create
snapshot views on a server which look like normal server locations to
"non clearcase users" - good enough to make the documents
available to be read by "non software" guys.
So two questions
1. Is their a way to offer basic check in / out /add to source control
functionality to the WINDOWS explorer, so that you do not have to
start eclipse to use those basic feautures.
2. Can I post "snapshot views" of a repository workspace on
a server location and update that in regular time intervals -so that
all WINDOWS user can see the content without eclipse?


Roland

hi Geoff

How can we influence the priority on that WI? There are a lot of
subscribers but how can we communicate and trigger the importance of
this feature ?

cheers
Marco


Geoffrey Clemm wrote:

There is a work item requesting a Windows Explorer integration for RTC
source control: work item 43272.

But for now, your best bet is the one suggested by Ralph ... use the new
Web Browser SCM UI (note: you need to point the web browser at a stream,
not a repository workspace).

Cheers,
Geoff

RolandMueller wrote:
Hello. For the the Jazz.net based source control you need to deal with
eclipse to change files under source control. That is fine for
software engineers. In our projects many other people have source
controlled files (e.g.
purchasing lists, manual test procedures, approval documents). They
have no glue of eclipse and it is not their job to get knowledge in
eclipse. Clear Case has a integration with the WINDOWS explorer. You
can check
in / out files directly from the windows explorer and I can create
snapshot views on a server which look like normal server locations to
"non clearcase users" - good enough to make the documents
available to be read by "non software" guys. So two questions 1. Is
their a way to offer basic check in / out /add to source control
functionality to the WINDOWS explorer, so that you do not have to
start eclipse to use those basic feautures. 2. Can I post "snapshot
views" of a repository workspace on
a server location and update that in regular time intervals -so that
all WINDOWS user can see the content without eclipse?

Roland

hi Geoff

How can we influence the priority on that WI? There are a lot of
subscribers but how can we communicate and trigger the importance of
this feature ?

cheers
Marco


Geoffrey Clemm wrote:

There is a work item requesting a Windows Explorer integration for RTC
source control: work item 43272.

But for now, your best bet is the one suggested by Ralph ... use the new
Web Browser SCM UI (note: you need to point the web browser at a stream,
not a repository workspace).

Cheers,
Geoff

RolandMueller wrote:
Hello. For the the Jazz.net based source control you need to deal with
eclipse to change files under source control. That is fine for
software engineers. In our projects many other people have source
controlled files (e.g.
purchasing lists, manual test procedures, approval documents). They
have no glue of eclipse and it is not their job to get knowledge in
eclipse. Clear Case has a integration with the WINDOWS explorer. You
can check
in / out files directly from the windows explorer and I can create
snapshot views on a server which look like normal server locations to
"non clearcase users" - good enough to make the documents
available to be read by "non software" guys. So two questions 1. Is
their a way to offer basic check in / out /add to source control
functionality to the WINDOWS explorer, so that you do not have to
start eclipse to use those basic feautures. 2. Can I post "snapshot
views" of a repository workspace on
a server location and update that in regular time intervals -so that
all WINDOWS user can see the content without eclipse?

Roland

Hi,

the more people subscribe and express their reasoning the higher it might go, I assume. Other than that It needs to fit into other urgent things. Because it is so important I assume the ability to load and deliver in the web ui was created, I assume.

Ralph

hi Geoff

How can we influence the priority on that WI? There are a lot of
subscribers but how can we communicate and trigger the importance of
this feature ?

cheers
Marco


Geoffrey Clemm wrote:

There is a work item requesting a Windows Explorer integration for RTC
source control: work item 43272.

But for now, your best bet is the one suggested by Ralph ... use the new
Web Browser SCM UI (note: you need to point the web browser at a stream,
not a repository workspace).

Cheers,
Geoff

RolandMueller wrote:
Hello. For the the Jazz.net based source control you need to deal with
eclipse to change files under source control. That is fine for
software engineers. In our projects many other people have source
controlled files (e.g.
purchasing lists, manual test procedures, approval documents). They
have no glue of eclipse and it is not their job to get knowledge in
eclipse. Clear Case has a integration with the WINDOWS explorer. You
can check
in / out files directly from the windows explorer and I can create
snapshot views on a server which look like normal server locations to
"non clearcase users" - good enough to make the documents
available to be read by "non software" guys. So two questions 1. Is
their a way to offer basic check in / out /add to source control
functionality to the WINDOWS explorer, so that you do not have to
start eclipse to use those basic feautures. 2. Can I post "snapshot
views" of a repository workspace on
a server location and update that in regular time intervals -so that
all WINDOWS user can see the content without eclipse?

Roland

Your most direct channel to the development team is via the jazz.net
forums and the work items ... add comments indicating your interest and
your particular use cases. A parallel channel is through the sales rep
for a particular customer. Another channel is through the bi-annual
VoiCE (Voice of the Client Event) meetings.

WRT this particular enhancement, the challenge is that there are lots of
ways of achieving these kinds of use cases (many of which are discussed
below), e.g.:

- a Windows Explorer integration
- a WebDAV integration (which lets you point WebDAV clients like the
Microsoft Office tools directly at the RTC server)
- a Web interface
- a file area on a shared disk (i.e., your option 2 below).

The last one (public shared file area) can be done today, so if that
meets your needs, you are all set.
The second to last one (Web interface) is supported in 2.0.0.2, so that
would be the next one to look at.
The WebDAV interface is being considered, so if that is what you'd like,
comment on that work item (73885)
The Windows Explorer is currently not being considered, because it would
be expensive to implement/maintain, and it is not clear how much better
it would be than the previous 3 options ... so you'd need to explain why
the two options that currently are being provided would not meet your needs.

Cheers,
Geoff




Marco Luescher wrote:

hi Geoff

How can we influence the priority on that WI? There are a lot of
subscribers but how can we communicate and trigger the importance of
this feature ?

cheers
Marco


Geoffrey Clemm wrote:
There is a work item requesting a Windows Explorer integration for RTC
source control: work item 43272.

But for now, your best bet is the one suggested by Ralph ... use the
new Web Browser SCM UI (note: you need to point the web browser at a
stream, not a repository workspace).

Cheers,
Geoff

RolandMueller wrote:
Hello. For the the Jazz.net based source control you need to deal with
eclipse to change files under source control. That is fine for
software engineers. In our projects many other people have source
controlled files (e.g.
purchasing lists, manual test procedures, approval documents). They
have no glue of eclipse and it is not their job to get knowledge in
eclipse. Clear Case has a integration with the WINDOWS explorer. You
can check
in / out files directly from the windows explorer and I can create
snapshot views on a server which look like normal server locations to
"non clearcase users" - good enough to make the documents
available to be read by "non software" guys. So two questions 1. Is
their a way to offer basic check in / out /add to source control
functionality to the WINDOWS explorer, so that you do not have to
start eclipse to use those basic feautures. 2. Can I post "snapshot
views" of a repository workspace on
a server location and update that in regular time intervals -so that
all WINDOWS user can see the content without eclipse?

Roland

Hi,

all the proposals sooner or later needs involvement to Jazz to deliver the workspace content to the repository , whether the local workspace is on the server or the local drive.
As long as it takes this involvement, it will be a tool for SW developers only. Today n out company , about half of the clear case license invoking is done by all the other disziplines , up to marketing, mechanical engineering etc. They simply want to version control their documents. They do not even know what a work space is.
Don't understand me wrong - Team concert is a great tool, but the non software collegues just know how to operate the Windows Explorer's contect menu and no SW enginner wants to babysit the other disciplines , what from the local workspace content changes has to be delivered and what not.
But it's ok for now. We just continue to use Clear Case for the non software assets.

Roland

We did add a web based interface that allows locking/checkin/updating files stored in Jazz Source Control so that non-developers could easily work with files stored in the repository without needed a client.

Does this help with your use-case?

Cheers,
Jean-Michel

Hi,

might help, have to look to it - or is the full blown web client.
Could you update me how to access this web interface (if it's not the standard client.)
I think this one is overloaded from the perspective of "non SW engenneers.

Regards, Roland

The RTC SCM web interface is just a tab on the RTC web interface.
Select a project area in the RTC web browser, and you'll see a Source
Control tab (unless your admin has explicitly hidden that tab ... such
as is the case for the jazz.net project areas).

Cheers,
Geoff

On 6/3/2010 9:23 AM, RolandMueller wrote:

Hi,

might help, have to look to it - or is the full blown web client.
Could you update me how to access this web interface (if it's not the
standard client.)
I think this one is overloaded from the perspective of "non SW
engenneers.

Regards, Roland