Version Control In Visual Studio 2005/2008/2010/2012

By Author: jenna rose
Total Articles: 1
Comment this article

Version control in Visual Studio 2005/2008/2010/2012

In this article, we are going to talk about what version control software is and how to use it within Visual Studio, one of the most popular software development kits (SDK) among developers.

Version control software allows you to keep revisions to your project files organized and secure. It is used by both solo developers and teams, regardless of size. Version control software allows your team to make changes to the same program, file, function, or line of code easily without the worry of an earlier change overwriting a later change. It handles this by tracking changes to the copies of the source file (that a developer can “check-out” to work on, and “check-in” to submit changes to the code).

Now, let's look at previous software version control tools.
Before 2003, Microsoft Visual SourceSafe (VSS) was the primary tool used for version control. However, due to limitations on internet transfer security and database corruption, some vendors, including Dynamsoft, developed their own alternatives to Visual SourceSafe. Later Microsoft replaced ...
... VSS with Team Foundation Server.

Along with Visual SourceSafe, Concurrent Versions System (CVS), an open source alternative to VSS, was quite popular at that time. Subversion is the new replacement for CVS. Recently, distributed version control systems, with Git being the leader, started to gain market share, mainly within the open source software development industry.

If divided into commercial and open source, generally speaking, commercial source control systems are more Microsoft / Visual Studio platform oriented and work better in business situations, while open source revision control software fits better in open source projects development.
This article mainly concerns commercial version control systems and Visual Studio.

+++ How to use version control in Visual Studio 2005/2008/2010/2012?
On top of working with VSS and TFS, Visual Studio provides additional APIs for 3rd party revision control tools for integration. In short, two APIs are available:
o VSPackage
o MSSCCI Plugin
For more information about VSPackage and MSSCCI, please read this blog entry.

Ever since version 2005, Visual Studio stores binding information for each individual project in a specific file and reads SCC (source code control) info when needed. We can choose or switch the current source control plug-in at menu Tools->Options->Source Control.

+++ How to use version control in Visual Studio 6.0/2003?
Ancient IDEs, such as Visual Studio 6.0/2003, read SCC info from the registry table (under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>> Software>> SourceCodeControlProvider). To toggle among different revision control tools, we need to update the registry table. Dynamsoft offers a light tool - SCC Provider Manager – to make this easy. The light tool can be found in the installation folder of Dynamsoft SourceAnywhere products.

+++ How to use version control in Visual Studio Express?
In Visual Studio 12 Express Edition, Microsoft enabled integration with TFS.

+++ Dynamsoft solutions
Dynamsoft has been a Microsoft Gold Certified partner for years. Its product line spans from VSS add-on, standalone version control systems to combined software configuration management software. It also offers hosting service for self-developed systems and TFS. All products are designed with Visual Studio users in mind and Vista / Win 7 certified.
o SourceAnywhere Standalone - SQL server-based revision control system designed as a Compelling VSS Alternative. How to integrate SourceAnywhere Standalone with Visual Studio?
o SourceAnywhere Hosted – SourceAnywhere Standalone deployed as SaaS (software as a service). How to integrate SourceAnywhere Hosted with Visual Studio?
o SourceAnywhere for VSS - Recommended by Microsoft to VSS 6.0 and 2005 users for fast, reliable and secure access to SourceSafe 6.0 and 2005 over TCP/IP. How to integrate SourceAnywhere for VSS with Visual Studio?
o SCM Anywhere Standalone - SQL Server based software configuration management system combining version control, bug tracking and build automation. How to integrate SCM Anywhere Standalone with Visual Studio?
o SCM Anywhere Hosted - SCM Anywhere Standalone deployed as SaaS. How to integrate SCM Anywhere Hosted with Visual Studio?
o TFS Hosted
This article discusses about how to use version control tool in Visual Studio
6.0/2003/2005/2008/2010/2011 and Express Edition.
If you want to know more information,please visit our site:http://www.dynamsoft.com/Products/Version-Control-in-Visual-Studio-2008-2010.aspx