Re: [platform-vcm-dev] The WVCM API

["Jean-Michel Lemieux" <Jean-Michel_Lemieux@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Roberto,

There is a long history of VCM APIs in Eclipse :) In the early days of Eclipse we thought that an API was the foundation on which the Eclipse VCM support should be built and spent quite a while trying to realize this. That was Eclipse 1.0. 

As a result of the 1.0 API, several repositories, including CVS, were forced to bend and contort to implement the API. And what ended up happening was that each repository wasn't able to fully expose their functionality within Eclipse. We had an API, but the repository integration within Eclipse was weak.

As part of the 2.0 release we shifted our priority from an API and concentrated instead on providing repositories the mechanisms for rich integration into the workbench (file system hooks, decoration, menu contributions, project association). Our goal was to ensure that any repository provider could integrate easily and show-off their cool features within the workbench. Based on the number of providers that have integrated with Eclipse in such a short period and the small number of questions we feel that we have succeeded. 

Beyond 2.1 we want to improve and fix the problems with the existing integration mechanisms. In addition we would like to understand the community's need for VCM APIs. So far we aren't sure if people want an API for CVS (e.g. repository specific) or a more general API for VCM. There are obvious use cases that support the need of some flavour of APIs: (a) release engineering needs access to the repository, (b) 3rd parties could extend a repository providers integration by building new cool tools, (c) headless control of the repository.

Our position on a general API for VCM is that we don't want to be the ones inventing or imposing an API because we know from experience that we shouldn't be in that business. It's up to the repository vendors to prove to us that there is buy in for such an API. Instead, if there was a reference implementation and an Eclipse plugin showing that (a) the API can be implemented, and (b) there is interest from other repository vendors to implement the API, we could then start investigating how to integrate the API into the Eclipse VCM deliverable.

As you have noticed, without any APIs you can't build tools based on a repository. And we agree that this is a missing piece of the Eclipse VCM story. But we don't know if there is a need for a general API instead of having each repository plugin provide it's own. Could you please help us understand this by answering some questions:

1. Do you need programmatic access to CVS or more generally to any repository?

2. What 'unattended' CVS operations do you require?

Cheers,
Jean-Michel and Michael

birdo@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Roberto Scaramuzzi) Sent by: platform-vcm-dev-admin@xxxxxxxxxxx 04/16/2003 06:10 PM Please respond to platform-vcm-dev

To:        platform-vcm-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx         cc:                 Subject:        Re: [platform-vcm-dev] The WVCM API

On Wednesday 04 September 2002 20:47, Clemm, Geoff wrote:
> This thread is for discussion of the WVCM API,
> which is being proposed as the headless
> TeamOperations API for Eclipse.
>
> Information about the WVCM API can be found at:
> http://www.webdav.org/deltav/wvcm
>
> Cheers,
> Geoff
> _______________________________________________
> platform-vcm-dev mailing list
> platform-vcm-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx
> http://dev.eclipse.org/mailman/listinfo/platform-vcm-dev

This thread seems to have died down a few months ago. I would like to revive 
it.

In particular, I suggest that the Eclipse VCM development group add WVCM 
support and a CVS implementation of the WVCM API to the Draft Plan for 
Eclipse 2.2

Unattended CVS operation is important to my group's Eclipse development 
efforts.

-- 
Roberto Scaramuzzi
System Engineer
Parasoft Corp.
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