7.1. Selecting a Source Control Repository

Visual Studio 2008 does not ship with a source control repository, but it does include rich support for checking files in and out, as well as merging and reviewing changes. To make use of a repository from within Visual Studio 2008, it is necessary to specify which repository to use. Visual Studio 2008 supports deep integration with Team Foundation Server (TFS), Microsoft's premier source control and project tracking system. In addition, Visual Studio supports any source control client that uses the Source Code Control (SCC) API. Products that use the SCC API include Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, and the free, open-source source-control repositories Subversion and CVS.

You would be forgiven for thinking that Microsoft Visual SourceSafe is no longer available, considering that all the press mentions is TFS. However, Microsoft Visual SourceSafe 2005 is still available and fully compatible with Visual Studio 2008. In fact, Visual SourceSafe is an ideal source control repository for individual developers or small development teams.

To make Visual Studio 2008 easy to navigate and work with, any functionality that is not available is typically hidden from the menus. By default, Visual Studio 2008 does not display the source control menu item. In order to get this item to appear, you must configure the source control provider information under the Options item on the Tools menu. The Options window, with the Source Control tab selected, is shown in Figure 7-1.

Figure 7.1. Figure 7-1

Initially very few settings for source control appear. However, once a provider has been selected, additional nodes are added to the tree to control how source control behaves. These options are specific to the source control provider that has been selected.

For the remainder of this chapter, we will focus on the use of Visual SourceSafe with Visual Studio 2008. In Chapter 58, we cover the use of Team Foundation, which offers much richer integration and functionality as a source control repository.

The Internet-based version of Visual SourceSafe uses a client-server model that runs over HTTP or HTTPS, instead of accessing the source code repository through a file share. Additional setup is required on the server side to expose this functionality.

Once a source control repository has been selected from the plug-in menu, it is necessary to configure the repository for that machine. For Visual SourceSafe, this includes specifying the path to the repository, the user with which to connect, and the settings to use when checking files in and out of the repository.

7.1.1. Environment Settings

Most source control repositories define a series of settings that must be configured in order for Visual Studio 2008 to connect to and access information from the repository. These settings are usually unique to the repository, although some apply across most repositories.

In Figure 7-2 the Environment tab is shown, illustrating the options that control when files are checked in and out of the repository. These options are available for most repositories. The drop-down menu at the top of the pane defines a couple of profiles, which provide suggestions for different types of developers.

Figure 7.2. Figure 7-2

7.1.2. Plug-In Settings

Most source control repositories need some additional settings in order for Visual Studio 2008 to connect to the repository. These are specified in the Plug-in Settings pane, which is customized for each repository. Some repositories, such as SourceSafe, do not require specific information regarding the location of the repository until a solution is added to source control. At that point, SourceSafe requests the location of an existing repository or enables the developer to create a new repository.