IBM Rational Synergy for Microsoft Source Code Control Interface – Visual Basic

Release 7.2

Before using this information, be sure to read the general information under Appendix, “Notices”.

 

This edition applies to VERSION 7.2, IBM Rational Synergy for Microsoft Source Code Control Interface—Visual Basic (product number 5724V66) and to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in new editions.

 

© Copyright IBM Corporation 1996, 2011

US Government Users Restricted Rights—Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.

 

 

Overview

This document describes the recommended usage when using the IBM® Rational® Synergy for Microsoft® Source Code Control Interface™ with Microsoft® Visual Basic® 5.X and 6.X. This document assumes that you are familiar with IBM Rational Synergy and Visual Basic.

See the IBM Rational Synergy for Microsoft Source Code Control Interface readme for system requirements, upgrade procedures, and changes in this version.

For additional information and documentation, including the IBM Rational Synergy Administrator’s Guide – Informix – Windows, visit the Support Web site.  

This document contains the following sections:

Go to top

Contacting IBM Rational Software Support

If the self-help resources have not provided a resolution to your problem, you can contact IBM® Rational® Software Support for assistance in resolving product issues.

Note: If you are a heritage Telelogic customer, a single reference site for all support resources is located at http://www.ibm.com/software/rational/support/telelogic/

Prerequisites

To submit your problem to IBM Rational Software Support, you must have an active Passport Advantage® software maintenance agreement. Passport Advantage is the IBM comprehensive software licensing and software maintenance (product upgrades and technical support) offering. You can enroll online in Passport Advantage from http://www.ibm.com/software/lotus/passportadvantage/howtoenroll.html

·         To learn more about Passport Advantage, visit the Passport Advantage FAQs at http://www.ibm.com/software/lotus/passportadvantage/brochures_faqs_quickguides.html.

·         For further assistance, contact your IBM representative.

To submit your problem online (from the IBM Web site) to IBM Rational Software Support, you must additionally:

·         Be a registered user on the IBM Rational Software Support Web site. For details about registering, go to http://www.ibm.com/software/support/.

·         Be listed as an authorized caller in the service request tool.

Submitting problems

To submit your problem to IBM Rational Software Support:

 

1.   Determine the business impact of your problem. When you report a problem to IBM, you are asked to supply a severity level. Therefore, you need to understand and assess the business impact of the problem that you are reporting.

Use the following table to determine the severity level.

Severity

Description

1

The problem has a critical business impact: You are unable to use the program, resulting in a critical impact on operations. This condition requires an immediate solution.

2

This problem has a significant business impact: The program is usable, but it is severely limited.

3

The problem has some business impact: The program is usable, but less significant features (not critical to operations) are unavailable.

4

The problem has minimal business impact: The problem causes little impact on operations or a reasonable circumvention to the problem was implemented.

 

2.   Describe your problem and gather background information. When describing a problem to IBM, be as specific as possible. Include all relevant background information so that IBM Rational Software Support specialists can help you solve the problem efficiently. To save time, know the answers to these questions:

·     What software versions were you running when the problem occurred?
To determine the exact product name and version, use the option applicable to you:

o         Start the IBM Installation Manager and select File > View Installed Packages. Expand a package group and select a package to see the package name and version number.

o         Start your product, and click Help > About to see the offering name and version number.

·     What is your operating system and version number (including any service packs or patches)?

·     Do you have logs, traces, and messages that are related to the problem symptoms?

·     Can you recreate the problem? If so, what steps do you perform to recreate the problem?

·     Did you make any changes to the system? For example, did you make changes to the hardware, operating system, networking software, or other system components?

·     Are you currently using a workaround for the problem? If so, be prepared to describe the workaround when you report the problem.

3.   Submit your problem to IBM Rational Software Support. You can submit your problem to IBM Rational Software Support in the following ways:

·    Online: Go to the IBM Rational Software Support Web site at https://www.ibm.com/software/rational/support/ and in the Rational support task navigator, click Open Service Request. Select the electronic problem reporting tool, and open a Problem Management Record (PMR), describing the problem accurately in your own words.

For more information about opening a service request, go to http://www.ibm.com/software/support/help.html

You can also open an online service request using the IBM Support Assistant. For more information, go to http://www.ibm.com/software/support/isa/faq.html.

·    By phone: For the phone number to call in your country or region, go to the IBM directory of worldwide contacts at http://www.ibm.com/planetwide/ and click the name of your country or geographic region.

·    Through your IBM Representative: If you cannot access IBM Rational Software Support online or by phone, contact your IBM Representative. If necessary, your IBM Representative can open a service request for you. You can find complete contact information for each country at http://www.ibm.com/planetwide/.

 

Basic Functionality

The interface allows users to perform common change management functions from within the Visual Basic IDE. The functions that are available through the integration are listed below and cover most of the day to day operations performed by developers.

  • Get Latest Version. Allows you to get the latest version of a file from the IBM Rational Synergy repository.
  • Check Out. Checks out a file.
  • Check In. Checks in a file.
  • Undo Check Out. Deletes the working version of a file and replaces it with the latest version of the file, as selected by the IBM Rational Synergy update rules for the project.
  • Show History. Displays the IBM Rational Synergy History View for the selected file.
  • Show Differences. Displays the differences between the selected file and its predecessor.
  • Synergy Properties. Displays the IBM Rational Synergy properties of a file.
  • Add Files to Synergy. Adds a file to the IBM Rational Synergy project.
  • Share Files. This function is not applicable to IBM Rational Synergy.
  • Run Synergy. Brings the IBM Rational Synergy Project View to the foreground.
  • Options. Displays the Source Code Control Dialog which allows the interaction between IBM Rational Synergy and Visual Basic to be modified.
  • Refresh File Status. Refreshes the file status of each file in the Visual Basic project.

These functions can be accessed through the Visual Basic Tools->Synergy menu. A limited set of functions from the Synergy menu are also available by right clicking on files in the Visual Basic Project Explorer and selecting from the drop-down menu that is displayed.

Advanced change management functions must still be performed using the IBM Rational Synergy client. These features include checking in directories and projects, task based CM folder manipulation, and modification of release tags. These features are generally only used by build managers.

Go to top

Installation Instructions

Users of previous integrations should uninstall the older version before installing the new software.

To start the installation process

1.       Go to the IBM Rational Synergy Support Web site to ensure that you have the latest version of the setup.exe file for the IBM Rational Synergy for Microsoft Source Code Control Interface.

If a newer version of the interface exists, download it from the Support Web site, and then extract it.

For more information about the Support Web site, see “Contacting IBM Rational Software Support”.

2.       Double click the setup.exe file.

The Choose Setup Language dialog appears.

3.       Select the setup language and then click OK.

The Welcome dialog appears.

4.       Click Next.

The License Agreement dialog box appears.

5.        Read and accept the terms in the license agreement, and then click Next.

The Destination Folder dialog box appears.

6.       Verify the installation path, and then, if the path is correct, click Next.

If you need to change the path:

a)       Click Change.

The Change Current Destination Folder dialog box appears.

b)       In Look in, navigate to and select the correct path, and click OK to close the Change Current Destination Folder dialog box.

c)       Click Next.

The Ready to Install the Program dialog box appears.

7.       Click Install.

8.       When the Installshield Wizard Completed dialog box appears, click Finish.

9.       Start a IBM Rational Synergy session on your production database.

 

 

Installing Microsoft file types

Microsoft file types must be installed into each IBM Rational Synergy database before you can use the interface. Your group membership must include ccm_admin privileges.

To install Microsoft file types:

1.       Start the IBM Rational Synergy Client.

2.      Click Tools->Start Synergy CLI

3.       Set your role by running the command ccm set role ccm_admin

4.       From the command prompt, run the mstypes_install.bat file, which is located by default in C:\Program Files\IBM\Rational\Synergy for MSSCCI\bin.

5.       After the installation is complete, exit and restart your IBM Rational Synergy session.

Go to top

mssccprj.scc File

Visual Basic creates a file with the name mssccprj.scc. This file is used by Visual Basic to store source code control information, including the path to the project. The path to a IBM Rational Synergy project changes each time a new version is checked out, so it is vital that this file is NEVER controlled in a IBM Rational Synergy project. When migrating Visual Basic projects into IBM Rational Synergy you should always have migrate ignore this file.

When a new version of a project is checked out from IBM Rational Synergy the mssccprj.scc file must be recreated by Visual Basic. This is done the first time the project is opened in Visual Basic.

Go to top

Creating a New Visual Basic Project

If you wish to create a new Visual Basic project and store it in the IBM Rational Synergy repository, follow the steps below:

1.       Make sure you have a valid IBM Rational Synergy database. If you don't have an existing database unpack one (see the IBM Rational Synergy Administrator’s Guide – Informix – Windows for details).

2.       Start a IBM Rational Synergy session using the database from step 1.

3.       Verify that the Visual Basic types have been installed in the database using the command ccm typedef /l /active from the Synergy CLI and locating the ms_vbp type. If you find ms_vbp you may proceed to step 4. If you cannot find ms_vbp you must install the Visual Basic types. See Installation Instructions for details.

Note: If you do not have the type_developer role you will not be able to perform this check.

4.       Create a new IBM Rational Synergy project. You will use this project to store the Visual Basic files. Make a note of the work area path for this project.

5.       Start Visual Basic and create the new project.

6.       Save the new project and its associated files in the work area of the IBM Rational Synergy project you created in step 3.

7.       After the files for the Visual Basic project have been saved a message box appears, and asks if you want to add the project to IBM Rational Synergy. Press the Yes button.

8.       The Open IBM Rational Synergy Project dialog appears. Select the IBM Rational Synergy project name and version that you created in step 3 and press the OK button.

9.       The Add Files to IBM Rational Synergy dialog appears. Select the files that you wish to store in the IBM Rational Synergy repository and press the OK button. At this point the files for your new project are added to the IBM Rational Synergy project.

10.   You are now ready to create a project baseline. See Creating a Project Baseline for details.

Go to top

Migrating an Existing Visual Basic Project

If you wish to migrate an existing Visual Basic project into the IBM Rational Synergy repository, follow the steps below:

1.       Make sure you have a valid IBM Rational Synergy database. If you don't have an existing database unpack one (see the IBM Rational Synergy Administration Guide for Windows NT for details).

2.       Start a IBM Rational Synergy session using the database from step 1.

3.       Verify that the Visual Basic types have been installed in the database. See Installation Instructions for details.

4.       Create a new IBM Rational Synergy project. You will use this project to store the Visual Basic files. Make a note of the work area path for this project.

5.       Copy the files for the existing Visual Basic project to the work area for the IBM Rational Synergy project that you created in step 4.

6.       Start Visual Basic and load the existing Visual Basic project from the IBM Rational Synergy work area.

7.       Select the Tools->Synergy->Add Project to Synergy menu item.

8.       Provide your Synergy login information

9.       The Open IBM Rational Synergy Project dialog appears. Select the IBM Rational Synergy project name and version that you created in step 3 and press the OK button.

10.   The Add Files to IBM Rational Synergy dialog appears. Select the files that you wish to store in the IBM Rational Synergy repository and press the OK button. At this point the files for your new project are added to the IBM Rational Synergy project.

11.   You are now ready to create a project baseline. See Creating a Project Baseline for details.

Go to top

Creating a Project Baseline

Once you have migrated a Visual Basic project into the IBM Rational Synergy repository you need to create a baseline from which all other versions of this project will be derived. This task is generally performed by build managers and is carried out using the IBM Rational Synergy client. There is no support in the interface for creating project baselines.

Go to top

Creating a Personal Working Version of a Project

Once your build manager has created a project baseline you must check out a personal working version of the Visual Basic project before you can use the integration. Follow the steps below:

1.       From the IBM Rational Synergy client copy the baseline project. This will create your own personal working version of the project.

2.       Start Visual Basic.

3.       Open the Visual Basic project from the work area of the IBM Rational Synergy project you just created. A message box is displayed asking if you want to add this project to IBM Rational Synergy. Press the Yes button.

4.       The Open IBM Rational Synergy Project dialog appears. Select the name and version of the working project you just created and press the OK button.

5.       Another message box appears stating that all available files have already been added to source code control. Press the OK button.

6.       You are now ready to use the integration. See General Usage for details.

Steps 2 and onwards appear to be unnecessary. However, it is at step 2 that Visual Basic looks for the mssccprj.scc file (which is not controlled). When Visual Basic doesn't find the file it assumes that the project is not under source control and asks if you wish to put the project under source control. The mssccprj.scc file is created when you answer Yes and provide the requested information.

Go to top

General Usage

Once you have created a personal working version of a Visual Basic project you are ready to start using the integration. Open a IBM Rational Synergy-controlled Visual Basic project. If you look at the Visual Basic Project Explorer you will see that each IBM Rational Synergy controlled file has either a small lock or a red check mark next to its name. The lock signifies that the file is checked in and cannot be modified. The red check mark signifies that the file is checked out and can be modified.

To check out a file, right click on the file in the Visual Basic Project Explorer and select Check Out from the drop down menu. The file is checked out and the lock icon is replaced with the red check mark, signifying that the file can now be modified. Alternatively, select Check Out from the Tools->Synergy menu. The Check Out Files from IBM Rational Synergy dialog appears. Select the files you wish to check out, enter a comment to be associated with the checked out files, and press the OK button. The files you have chosen are checked out.

All other operations supported from the Tools->Synergy menu work in a similar fashion.

Additional IBM Rational Synergy operations are available by displaying the IBM Rational Synergy Advanced dialog. This dialog can be displayed by pressing the Advanced button that is found on most of the Source Code Control dialogs. For example, the Source Code Control Options dialog has an Advanced button. Pressing it displays the IBM Rational Synergy Advanced dialog.

The Advanced dialog has three pages or tabs. The first, Options, allows you to specify:

·         Subprojects initialization settings by checking “IDE project includes IBM Rational Synergy subproject(s)”. 

·         Check for parallel versions on check out.

·         A default comment to be used when checking files out.

·         A default comment to be used when checking files in.

The second tab, Work Area, allows you to update and sync Visual Basic projects.

The third tab, Task-Based CM, allows you to select the default task to be used for change management operations, and to complete that task when ready. See Task-Based CM and IBM Rational Synergy online help for more information.

Go to top

Task-Based CM

If you are using Task-Based CM, you should set the current task before performing any change management operations. To do this, perform the following:

·         Select Tools->Synergy->Options. The Source Code Control Options dialog appears.

·         Press the Advanced button. The IBM Rational Synergy Advanced dialog appears.

·         Select the Task-Based CM page and press the Select Task button.

·         The IBM Rational Synergy Select Task dialog appears.

·         Select a task from the list and press the OK button.

·         Press the Apply button on the IBM Rational Synergy Advanced dialog.

·         Press the OK button on the IBM Rational Synergy Advanced dialog and again on the Source Code Control Options dialog.

·         The task you selected will now be used for all change management operations.

Note: If your IBM Rational Synergy session exits, you will need to select the current task again.

Once you have completed work on a task you will need to complete the task. Rather than checking in each individual file you can perform the entire operation (checking in all files associated with the task and completing the task) in a single operation. To do this you must:

·         Make sure you have saved all of your files.

·         Select Tools->Synergy->Options. The Source Code Control Options dialog appears.

·         Press the Advanced button. The IBM Rational Synergy Advanced dialog appears.

·         Select the Task-Based CM page and press the Complete Task button.

·         All files associated with the task are checked in.

·         Press the OK button on the IBM Rational Synergy Advanced dialog and again on the Source Code Control Options dialog.

·         The Visual Basic Project Explorer must now be updated to reflect the changed state of the files that were checked in. Select Tools->Synergy->Refresh File Status.

Go to top

Appendix: Notices

This information was developed for products and services offered in the U.S.A. IBM may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document in other countries. Consult your local IBM representative for information on the products and services currently available in your area. Any reference to an IBM product, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that IBM product, program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that does not infringe any IBM intellectual property right may be used instead. However, it is the user's responsibility to evaluate and verify the operation of any non-IBM product, program, or service.

IBM may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter described in this document. The furnishing of this document does not grant you any license to these patents. You can send written license inquiries to:

IBM Director of Licensing
IBM Corporation
North Castle Drive

Armonk, NY 10504-1785
U.S.A.


For license inquiries regarding double-byte character set (DBCS) information, contact the IBM Intellectual Property Department in your country or send written inquiries to:

Intellectual Property Licensing
Legal and Intellectual Property Law
IBM Japan, Ltd.
19-21, Nihonbashi-Hakozakicho, Chuo-ku
Tokyo 103-8510, Japan

The following paragraph does not apply to the United Kingdom or any other country where such provisions are inconsistent with local law:
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Some states do not allow disclaimer of express or implied warranties in certain transactions. Therefore, this statement may not apply to you.

This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. IBM may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time without notice.

Any references in this information to non-IBM Web sites are provided for convenience only and do not in any manner serve as an endorsement of those Web sites. The materials at those Web sites are not part of the materials for this IBM product and use of those Web sites is at your own risk.

IBM may use or distribute any of the information you supply in any way it believes appropriate without incurring any obligation to you. Licensees of this program who wish to have information about it for the purpose of enabling: (i) the exchange of information between independently created programs and other programs (including this one) and (ii) the mutual use of the information which has been exchanged, should contact:

Intellectual Property Dept. for Rational Software
IBM Corporation
1 Rogers Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142
U.S.A.

Such information may be available, subject to appropriate terms and conditions, including in some cases, payment of a fee.

The licensed program described in this document and all licensed material available for it are provided by IBM under terms of the IBM Customer Agreement, IBM International Program License Agreement or any equivalent agreement between us.

Any performance data contained herein was determined in a controlled environment. Therefore, the results obtained in other operating environments may vary significantly. Some measurements may have been made on development-level systems and there is no guarantee that these measurements will be the same on generally available systems. Furthermore, some measurements may have been estimated through extrapolation. Actual results may vary. Users of this document should verify the applicable data for their specific environment.

Information concerning non-IBM products was obtained from the suppliers of those products, their published announcements or other publicly available sources. IBM has not tested those products and cannot confirm the accuracy of performance, compatibility or any other claims related to non-IBM products. Questions on the capabilities of non-IBM products should be addressed to the suppliers of those products.

This information contains examples of data and reports used in daily business operations. To illustrate them as completely as possible, the examples include the names of individuals, companies, brands, and products. All of these names are fictitious and any similarity to the names and addresses used by an actual business enterprise is entirely coincidental.

If you are viewing this information softcopy, the photographs and color illustrations may not appear.

 

Trademarks

IBM, the IBM logo, and ibm.com are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at Copy and Trademark information at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.html.

Adobe, the Adobe logo, PostScript, and the PostScript logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States, and/or other countries.

IT Infrastructure Library is a registered trademark of the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency which is now part of the Office of Government Commerce

Intel, Intel logo, Intel Inside, Intel Inside logo, Intel Centrino, Intel Centrino logo, Celeron, Intel Xeon, Intel SpeedStep, Itanium, and Pentium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both.

Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and the Windows logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

ITIL is a registered trademark, and a registered community trademark of the Office of Government Commerce, and is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries.

Cell Broadband Engine is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both and is used under license therefrom.

Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both.

Other company, product or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

Go to top