Book Image

Learning Perforce SCM

By : Neal Ralph Firth, Robert Cowham
Book Image

Learning Perforce SCM

By: Neal Ralph Firth, Robert Cowham

Overview of this book

<p>Learning Perforce SCM is a pragmatic how-to guide, explaining the key concepts and usage of Perforce. Based on the authors' experiences training thousands of users around the globe, it explains those key concepts in a clear, incremental manner, combining sound theory with the pragmatic application of principles.<br /><br />Learning Perforce SCM provides practical knowledge which will transform you into confident and competent Perforce users in your day-to-day operations.<br /><br />You'll start by learning how to use Perforce to track your day-to-day coding activities. Once a solid foundation is established you'll learn how to apply the data mining features to evaluate current and past activities. Then you'll learn how to configure Perforce so that it adapts to support your specific development needs. All the while you'll be learning how to deal with conflicts and use the tool to communicate with other team members. Finally, you'll learn about using branches and streams to provide seamless support for concurrent development. Along the way, pragmatic hints and tips will help you avoid issues and identify areas for further personal exploration.</p> <p><em>"It's wonderful to see a new book about Perforce, especially one written by Robert Cowham and Neal Firth. No one can teach Perforce better than these seasoned subject matter experts"</em><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <em>Laura Wingerd, author of Practical Perforce.</em></p>
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Learning Perforce SCM
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Chapter 5. File Information

File information is the key to understanding the history of a repository, how a code base or set of files has evolved, and what is happening to it now.

File information is exposed in many parts of the P4V interface. In this chapter, we will cover how to make the most efficient use of the Perforce reporting commands to examine the information associated with a file. More importantly, we'll explain how to interpret this information to maximize the value it provides you.

In this chapter we will cover:

  • Properties of files

  • File versions and their relationship to changelists

  • Finding files in the repository

  • The many ways of referencing file versions

  • Comparing different versions of files and folders

  • Examining how file content has evolved over time

  • Perforce file types and how they impact usage and workspaces