UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hi all,
i am trying to incorporate source control management in my project. We have about 50 - 60 shell scripts on 3 different machines dev, stag and production, but there is no source control.

All the files have to be located at specific locations on each machine for it to work

I want to know whats the best practice to put this project into source control.

If I understand your issue correctly you are looking for a distributed version control system? If so, then bzr, git, darcs, mercurial or monotone will help you? There will be one repository residing on one machine, from which the scripts are pulled by each of the other machines. Hope this helps.

Source control is not software it is procedures, and then setting up the software to reflect those procedures.

You probably want a set of the associated archives: DEV, STAG, PROD - names don't matter.

Anybody can check out/ check in to DEV. After QA, the code is promoted to the STAG archive. This measn the code on the STAG box exactly matches what is current in the STAG archive. No exceptions. After more testing/papework/heartache the code is promoted to the PROD archive. A push to production is scheduled to coincide with promoting to PROD in the archive.

This is an example. Not best practices.

Short version:
Source control best practices

I agree with Jim. Get your idea around the concept first and then find a tool (the software) that helps you implement it. You'll need to limit access to the STAG and PROD environment and have only those responsible for testing on the STAG box and those responsible for deployment on the PROD box. I don't know how detailed you want to get, but I work in a banking environment which is strictly controlled by the Fed, so controls, separation of duties and auditing is a part of daily life.

You can succeed at any level you what to, you just have to control those who don't want to get with the program.

Good luck

I agree with the previous posters. Probably best to create a design document that also describes the requirements and the procedures. You may want to create a way of to deal with branches. I like subversion for script version control.