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12 Version Control System

GPS offers the possibility for multiple developers to work on the same project, through the integration of version control systems (VCS). Each project can be associated to a VCS, through the VCS tab in the Project property editor. See The Project Properties Editor.

GPS does not come with any version control system: it uses underlying command-line systems such as CVS, Subversion or ClearCase to perform the low level operations, and provides a high level user interface on top of them. Be sure to have a properly installed version control system before enabling it under GPS.

The systems that are supported out of the box in GPS are CVS, Subversion and ClearCase. There are two interfaces to ClearCase: the standard ClearCase interface, which is built-in and uses a generic GPS terminology for VCS operations, and the Native ClearCase interface, which is fully customizable and uses by default the terminology specific to ClearCase.

Note that, at the moment, only Snapshot Views are supported in the ClearCase integration; Dynamic Views are not supported.

It is also possible to add your own support for other version control systems, or modify the existing CVS, Subversion and ClearCase interfaces, see Adding support for new Version Control Systems for more information.

When using CVS or Subversion, GPS will also need a corresponding patch command that usually comes with it. If you are under Windows, be sure to install a set of CVS and patch executables that are compatible. Additionally a diff command is required to use Subversion.

It is recommended that you first get familiar with the version control system that you intend to use in GPS first, since many concepts used in GPS assume basic knowledge of the underlying system.

Associating a VCS to a project enables the use of basic VCS features on the source files contained in the project. Those basic features typically include the checking in and out of files, the querying of file status, file revision history, comparison between various revisions, and so on.

Administration of VCS systems is not handled by GPS at this stage. Therefore, before working on a project using version control system, make sure that the system is properly set-up before launching GPS.

Note: the set-up must make sure that the VCS commands can be launched without entering a password.