2.5. GUI Package Management Version Control Commands

This screenshot shows you the version control actions applicable to packages.

Version control in ComPact is based on a simple checkin/checkout model. Developers checkout packages or package collections into their local workspace, modifiy and extend them there, and commit the results back to the central version repository. ComPact distinguishes checkin actions by the state and use of the created version: is it a development version or a release of a package, and does the new version only contain fixes (patch commit), extensions but no interface changes (minor commit), or changes that directly affect all depending packages (major commit).

The checkout and integration of changes other people have committed to the same version that was perviously checked out is called update.

ComPact ensures that each consistent state of the package that is checked-in to the repository is labelled with a unique name, often called a tag. In addition, users may label certain versions with arbitrary names (which must of course not conflict with the names ComPact uses). Some of the symbolic names ComPact uses can be seen in the select boxes at the bottom of the page.

ComPact offers the possibility to merge in all changes from other version branches of the package, as well as only selected patches from branches.