[p4] Newbie Question

[jab]

On Jan 7, 2004, at 1:12 PM, Brooke Gravitt wrote:
>> [At home is fine: run a copy of the two-user/two-workspace server on a
>> local Win/NT or Win/2000
>> machine for this. Just don't mix this experiment with your production
>> work.]
>
> Don't have this luxury.

	Don't have the luxury of running through a tutorial to decide how to
	check a tree of files into the server?  Try this, then...

	I guarantee, when you run:
		find . type f -print | p4 -x - add
		p4 submit
	It will check the files into Perforce SO FAST that you'll think it was
	a debugging-output and nothing was actually done.

	I'd bet folding money on it. Heck, I'd bet a symphony ticket on it.

	That's what you'll see when you run through the tutorial.

	If you don't have the time for this, do these three things:
	1. Start up a server on a machine.  Now, go to a second machine, so 
that
	    you don't accidently screw up and place your test-files in the 
Perforce
	    database/server directories.
	2. On the second machine, run these commands:
		mkdir $HOME/playarea
		cd $HOME/playarea
		p4 client
	     (save the 'p4 client' info in the editor - just save/quit.)
	3. Copy your 6-10 different product trees into $HOME/playarea, in the
	    locations:
		$HOME/playarea/product1/src
		$HOME/playarea/product2/src
		$HOME/playarea/product3/src
		$HOME/playarea/product3/src
		$HOME/playarea/product4/src
		$HOME/playarea/product5/src
	    You don't have to use these exact names, but it's handy to set up 
the
	    unrelated products in separate areas, and Perforce will store them 
as
	    separate directories.  No "p4 depot" commands are needed.
	4. Now, check them in:
		cd $HOME/playarea
		find . -type f -print | p4 -x - add
		p4 submit
	    (type in a description and save it in the editor. Make sure that 
the description
	    field begins with white-space.)

	If you're on Linux, do the same thing from the command-line. Don't be 
put off
	by the fact that this email refers to command-line; everything herein 
can be done
	from the Windows GUI client, easily, but it's easier to describe and 
reproduce from
	the command-line. I don't have screen-captures to mail you for GUI 
usage, and will
	say out-right that it's easier to track what you're doing, as you 
learn, if you start
	from command-line while you're learning.  (That's for YOU. Your users 
can learn
	from command-line or GUI.)

	5. Now, run things like "p4 changes" and "p4 edit filename / p4 
submit" and so on.

>  I have to evaluate whether we stay on the current
> CM tool or migrate to Perforce (which our newly aquired business unit
> uses.)

	Ask BEA for advice on this, if you can; they acquired a company using
	Perforce, back about 1999, and decided to use Perforce based on the
	very strong support it had within the acquired company (Weblogic).

	It's hard not to gush about Perforce's ease of use and low overhead.
	The other items you are describing don't really measure up, and 
ClearCase
	has a very high cost - staff-time and hardware - to get working and 
keep working.

>> Avoid the command "p4 depot" (or "p4 depots") until you've used
>> Perforce for weeks/months.
>> It's a more advanced thing that you probably won't need, initially.
>> Honest.
>
> Unfortunately, I need to be able to load up several *seperate* 
> baselines
> (main, support, and customer customizations) of each of product we 
> have.
> The only way to do this (it appears) is to have seperate depots.

Put them in different directories. //depot/thing1, //depot/thing2, and 
so on.

> Also, upon reading through the docs, it looks like Perforce's defect
> tracking and proccess management functionality isn't quite on par with
> Harvest, Dimensions, or ClearCase/ClearQuest.

Perforce integrates to various bug databases and also has its "jobs" 
database
as a way of tracking work.  It is as full-fledged a bug database as one 
you'd buy
separately? No. It doesn't claim to be. But it can buy you time to 
decide what you
want. There are many integrations done to make it work with bug 
databases, if you
ask around.

	-Jeff Bowles