[triangle-zpug] Last night's meeting recap for new Python User Group Blog

[Jim Allman]

On Jun 27, 2007, at 5:35 PM, Chris Calloway wrote:
> I you shared last night, I would appreciate your placing a  
> paragraph on
> this list that could be incorporated into a blog post.

This was arguably off-topic, but hopefully useful to others. I spoke  
briefly about the "Streamed Lines" website:
	http://www.cmcrossroads.com/bradapp/acme/branching/
	http://www.cmcrossroads.com/bradapp/acme/branching/patterns.html

This is a pretty sweeping "pattern language" on the dynamics of  
branching SCM (aka "version control"). If you're struggling with SCM  
in a real-world environment, or suspect you'd get more value from it  
if you just had a better mental model, this site is well worth a  
look. Some plusses:
	- patterns and terms are memorable, capture important distinctions  
(e.g., Codeline, Policy Branch, Integration Line)
	- lots of discussion of ideal vs. practical steps, effects of  
culture on SCM and vice versa, business and contractual relationships
	- includes lessons learned (best practices and gotchas) from a wide  
variety of projects and environments
	- it's all tool and platform agnostic (incl. some tips on how to use  
patterns with RCS :)
	- BONUS: a spiffy, whiteboard-friendly diagramming language for  
version trees (example at bottom of the homepage above)

Here's a typical inner page to get the flavor:
	http://www.cmcrossroads.com/bradapp/acme/branching/branch-creation.html

I'm surprised I hadn't heard of this site before. If anyone has any  
experiences (positive or negative) working with these ideas, I'd love  
to hear about it.

   =jimA=

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Jim Allman
Interrobang Digital Media
http://www.ibang.com/
(919) 649-5760