Understanding StarTeam

Software Configuration Management (SCM) is critical to managing the software life cycle process. It includes version control, build management, change management, and so on.

Source control, also called version control, is a way to keep multiple versions of the files that comprise a project. Team members need easy, well-organized, and reliable access to the current and historical revisions of a file. Source control is simply the management and maintenance of these revisions in an archive. A user checks out a revision (usually the most recent, the tip, revision), modifies it, and checks it in as a new revision without losing either the former revision or anyone else’s work.

StarTeam’s version control has been integrated into a number of the most popular integrated development environments. Thus, you can use the application’s version control without leaving the development environment with which you are most familiar. The application simply adds a few menu commands and toolbar buttons. It enables each team member to:

• Develop applications in the preferred development environment while simultaneously checking files in and out of the application.
• Link each file to a StarTeam change request, requirement, or task as part of the process of adding or checking in that file.

The team leader can:

• Keep track of who checked in which files and when.
• Keep track of which file revisions contain the changes needed to complete a specific change request, requirement, or task.

The entire team can store everything related to a product in one location.

Be aware that if the StarTeam projects have been wrapped around PVCS archives or VSS projects, your PVCS or VSS password must be either a blank password or identical to your StarTeam password.

The StarTeam Microsoft SCC Integration connects to the application server using the TCP/IP (Sockets) protocol. Mis-configuration of this protocol may prevent successful connection to the server.