Recommendations for Interacting with a Centralized Source Code Control System while Developing a Project

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Learn how to interact with a centralized source code control provider while developing a project.

Note You can apply these concepts when interacting with any centralized source code control provider.

Checking Out Files and Making Modifications


Recommendation	Details
Lock webVI files to prevent other developers from making simultaneous changes.	Locking webVI files when you check them out reduces the chances of code-breaking merge conflicts.
Update your local copy of the project regularly during development.	Keeping your local copy of the project in sync with the central repository ensures you are developing code against the most recent version of the project. Use the <centralized source control provider> update command, where <centralized source control provider> is, replace with the name of your provider.
Exit G Web Development Software before updating your remote copy.	If you leave G Web Development Software open when you update your local copy, it is possible to corrupt files in the project.


Recommendation	Details
Check in all files within the project folder that have changes.	You may notice that some files have changes even if you did not modify them. In particular, the project file will frequently change due to changes in other files. Your source code control provider should scan the project folder for changes. Use this feature to identify all files with modifications.
Ignore the following directories when you submit to the central repository: Builds .cache	Changes within these sub-directories do not affect the functionality of source code in the project. The project directory in the central repository may already be configured to ignore the folders. If not, use commands to configure your source code control provider to ignore the folders.
Add a descriptive comment to your commit.	Descriptive comments help you and other developers interpret changes you submit to the repository.
After you commit files to the repository, notify other team members.	Other developers may need to change their code based on changes you make. Some collaboration tools, as well as some source code control systems, can auto-generate emails when changes to the repository occur.