I have recently started a new job, and the company uses Visual SourceSafe for source control. At my previous job we used Subversion. One of the ‘rules’ at the new company is that you only commit your code when you are happy that it works, and that it won’t break builds. The other rule is ‘No Branching’
This cramps my style a bit, as I enjoy creating a branch, working on that branch, committing whenever I wish (which gives me the benefit of being able to revert if I do something stupid — which is quite often) and then merge my branch back into trunk when I’m happy everything works as it should.
So, the question is… Can I add files to my own local subversion repository, and not have it interfere with SourceSafe? I can then commit to my local subversion repo whenever i wish, and when i’m happy with everything commit in SourceSafe? Is it safe? Will I break SourceSafe?
Thanks
You will not break SourceSafe. This is an excellent way to work in your situation
Update: Ignore any file that is not of direct interest to you, such as scc files. Your repository does not need to recreate the entire project, just keep track of the things you change.
I do the same thing with Mercurial and CVS. The company uses CVS, and I use a local Mercurial repository that I check in whenever I like, and check in to CVS when I am happy.
[aside]
Changing source control systems at an individual level is fine, but for a team can often be problematic. People get used to the way source controls work, and leverage that to their advantage. Change the system without total buy in and it can take a long time for them to feel the advantages outweigh the features they have lost. While getting used to the new system they make mistakes, lose work, and can be a little remiss in thanking you for changing a system they thought worked perfectly well.