Sun WorkShop TeamWare: User's Guide: 21 - Dealing With Release Matters

# Dealing With Release Matters | # 21 |

This chapter explores the post-build process and indicates where further help can be found in handling release and integration matters.

Performing Master Builds | page 233
Performing Releases | page 234

Before you begin, make sure you have read Chapter 5, "Starting a Project" --"Product Release Considerations" on page 47

## Integrating Your Changes

The online Help gives a brief overview of this subject. For more background information on how a specific environment handles the question, refer to: Sun WorkShop TeamWare: Solutions Guide.

For quesions about resolving differences between files see Chapter 9, "Resolving Conflicts." You can reverse a bringover or putback with Undo when conflicts occur, and review a file history to determine at which point any degradation in functionality may have occurred.

## Performing Master Builds

A Master Build is created subsequent to all contributing developers having putback clean files into the common integration workspace.

### Establishing Nightly Builds

If you are the build master, the person responsible for running nightly and master builds of the source, you determine if you will run your builds in the main integration area or in a child workspace. Refer to Sun WorkShop TeamWare: Solutions Guide for a description of how a specific environment handled these questions.

## Performing Releases

The release process demands control of source code and orderly hierarchical cutbacks. You can organize a release to follow the "train" process as explained in the next section.

### Organizing a Release

When a series of overlapping software releases is needed, the "train" theory can organize the projects. In principal, the release train leaves the station at designated intervals, with whatever features are ready at the time.

Developers working in their private workspaces put back code to the integration workspace, never to the train directly. Gate-keepers ensure the putbacks to the train from the integration area are without error. Versioning helps keep control of the changes as the release proceeds.

For an example of how the release process works in a specific environment see Sun WorkShop TeamWare: Solutions Guide.

### How the Release Process Works

When you reach a milestone in your source code development project, you can use FreezePointing to create a snapshot, or freezepoint of your project. You can later use FreezePointing to recreate the source hierarchy. Refer to Chapter 17, "Introduction to FreezePointing" for a full explanation of how FreezePointing can help in the release cycle.