ViCiouS Pro Release 1.01.04 --------------------------- Low cost version control for Borland's Delphi and C++ Builder This package contains the evaluation version of ViCiouS Pro. We hope you find this product useful and affordable. Note: The ViCiouS Pro online help contains a Version Control Primer that may also be of use to you. Features -------- Following is a taste of the features and functions available in the current release: * Integrates with your development tools ViCiouS Pro integrates directly with the Delphi 1.x, Delphi 2.x, Delphi 3.x, and C++ Builder 1.x Integrated Development Environments (IDEs). * Supports any type of file Use it to manage your Delphi projects, design documents, help files, test data, batch files, and demos. * File Families Two or more files can be recognized and manipulated as one logical file. For example, the files ABOUT.DFM and ABOUT.PAS would be recognized as a Delphi form and handled together as one file. ViCiouS Pro is bundled with file family definitions for: 1. Delphi projects, forms, and units 2. C++ Builder projects, forms, and units 3. Resource files 4. Paradox tables 5. dBase tables Note: You can use or change the definitions provided as well as create your own family definitions. * Share files Re-use your code by sharing it across multiple projects. Allows you to update code in one spot and have the change automatically cascade to the other projects. * Customize shared files When you find it necessary to tailor a shared file to a customer's specific needs, use Customize to branch an instance of a shared file from the main line of development. * Synchronize projects For team development, Synchronize makes sure the latest project changes are retrieved to your working directory. This feature is also useful for updating working directories containing shared files. * Keyword expansion Embed version control information and comments within your files as they are checked in. You have control over keywords and can make standardized history blocks on a per file extension basis (i.e., you can use one format for C++ files and a totally different layout for Object Pascal files). Even better! Allow keyword expansion to embed release information within your files as you retrieve a release. Now your About box will contain the correct release name, release date, and release time. * Visual differencing ViCiouS Pro uses the Beyond Compare file comparison toolkit licensed from Scooter Software. Visual differencing allows you to see the changes in your source code files and in Delphi form files. Differencing is integrated with the check in process, the Archive Explorer, and the Show History feature. * Label files Allows you to attach a name to a specific file version for future reference. * Create snapshot Allows you to stamp a product release (i.e., '1.0', '3.1.05'). * Show History Provides a detailed history of your archive directories and files, listing information on an event-by-event basis. Allows you to view the comments associated with each event and to retrieve older versions of your files. * Hide files When a file is no longer needed for a project, the Hide file feature allows you to retain the file in the archive yet exclude it from further development. Hidden files may be restored to active status at any time. * View files based upon status Allows you to see hidden files, checked out files, or files checked out by specific users. * Centralized Archive All files are stored in compressed format in a centralized archive accessible via a Local Area Network (LAN). Supports multiple projects organized into their individual directory structures. As a result, your archive directory structure can mirror your development directory structure. * Multiple archive support For those situations where you need to separate your source code down project or functional lines, use the multiple archive support to quickly create and switch between source code archives. * Multi-user From one to twenty users may work from the same source code archive. There is no limit imposed on the number of users, however we see twenty as the realistic upper bound. * User identification Login ID and an optional password identify users. Users are automatically connected to the source code archive if they have logged into the workstation on Windows NT & Windows 95. * Integrity checking ViCiouS Pro calculates a CRC for each file as it is checked into the archive. When a file is checked out, the CRC is recalculated and compared to the original CRC. This verifies that what you put in is what you get out. * Usable outside of a development environment ViCiouS Pro includes an Archive Explorer that provides access to your projects and files outside of the IDEs. * Administration tool The included admin tool allows you to create and modify users and file family definitions. * Data Maintenance ViCiouS Pro is delivered with tools to check and maintain the integrity of your database ndices and tables. A requirement despite ViCiouS Pro's great safety record. File Families ------------- Have you ever copied a Delphi *.PAS file and forgotten to also copy the associated *.DFM file? What about that resource file and its associated include file? ViCiouS Pro refers to these as file families. A file family is a set of files bearing the same filename, having unique extensions, and requiring the presence of one another to produce your product. When you tell ViCiouS Pro that you want to add a Delphi project file to the archive, ViCiouS Pro will bring along its *.OPT or *.DOF and *.RES files. You won't have to deal with three files, only one. Better yet, ViCiouS Pro lets you customize its file families. You can modify the definitions delivered with the product or create your own. Changes in this release ----------------------- Sections describing the known problems and limitations follow the list of changes. The changes in this release are as follows: 1. In the evaluation period, the number of tries has been increased from 30 to 60. The number of tries in the grace period has been increased from 7 to 14. 2. 16-bit keyword expansion is now enabled and working. 3. Workgroups can now retrieve the latest changes from the database using the Synchronize command. Synchronize compares the timestamp of files in the working directory to the corresponding files in the archive. If the archived version is more recent, it is retrieved into the working directory. Synchronize skips files that are already checked out by the developer. 4. You can now tailor an instance of a shared file to a particular customer's needs using the Customize command. 5. In the IDE interface for Delphi and C++ Builder, you can now list all of the files checked out by yourself within the current project. The Checked Out Files window allows you to check in and/or difference the files. 6. You may create and switch between multiple source code archives. 7. You can now move a file from one archive directory to another. 8. In the Add Files wizard, the project tree has been moved to its own page. 9. In the Add Files wizard, the file listbox was replaced with an improved listbox. The new listbox allows you to sort the files based upon name, date, or size. 10. In the Add Files wizard, replaced the filter combobox with the capability to specify custom file filters (e.g., *.PAS, *.DPR) in a memo field. 11. The performance of the Add Files wizard has been improved when adding large numbers of files to the archive. 12. Archive creation and maintenance are now centralized within an Archive Tool. 13. Improved the online help. 14. In the definition of a file family, you may now have certain files left in a modifiable state even though the file has been checked in. This capability was added to support products that tend to modify specific files regardless of whether the file is read-only. For example, C++ Builder tends to write to the project MAK file even though you haven't changed the project. CodeRush tends to write to the BKM file even though the BKM file may be read-only. 15. When checking in files, double-clicking a file in the file list now invokes the Differences Viewer. 16. When performing version control operations in the IDE interface, the interface no longer attempts to save the project file if the project file is not checked out. Previously, this was resulting in too many requests to save a read-only project file. 17. Corrected the caption on the "Please wait" forms for labeling and taking a snapshot. 18. When you create a new archive directory, the directory is now alphabetically positioned among its siblings. 19. The "History keyword required" message now contains the name of the file in which the keyword was missing. 20. The warning message for deleting a shared file now states that only this particular instance of the file will be deleted. 21. Added troubleshooting information for database-related errors. 22. When retrieving an individual member of a snapshot, the outgoing keywords within the member are now expanded. 23. If the Add Files wizard is invoked from the Archive Explorer and the current archive directory has a working directory then the Add Files wizard positions its drive combobox and directory listbox to the working directory. 24. The "Get local copy" parameter in the Check Out wizard was changed to "Don't get local copy". This flag is always disabled when the wizard is first invoked. 25. Improved the performance of the routine that reads the archive directory structure from the archive. 26. If keyword expansion is enabled, keyword expansion now rereads the keyword settings prior to each Check In or Get Latest operation. 27. In the Archive Explorer, the archive directory structure automatically updates when a directory is added or deleted by another user. 28. After creating a new archive, you are given the opportunity to add user definitions to the archive. 29. In Show History, the Next and Previous Version menu options are now reversed. 30. A file family cannot be deleted from the Admin Tool if one or more files in the archive belong to the family. 31. ViCiouS Pro now recognizes BDE 4.5.1 and is delivered with the appropriate TUTIL32.DLL. 32. The Cancel button now works in the Add Files, Get Latest, Check Out, Check In, and Undo Check Out wizards. 33. The Archive Explorer was crashing during automatic refresh if it was not positioned to an archive directory within the left-hand tree view. This no longer occurs. 34. Get Latest now retrieves subdirectories of files without crashing. 35. The CLIENT16 and CLIENT32 utilities now check for the existence of the BDE on the developer's workstation. 36. The VICIOUS.HLP file has been moved from the 16BIT and 32BIT subdirectories to the DOC subdirectory. Developers will need to re-execute CLIENT16 and/or CLIENT32 in order to update the shortcuts on their workstation. 37. Keyword expansion now indents comment lines after the first comment line. The lines are indented to the start of the first line of comments. 38. The Add Files wizard would periodically appear in a maximized state. This no longer occurs. 39. During Check In, the version control manager was trying to recalculate file families for the checked in files. Under certain circumstances this would cause an error. The version control manager now uses the file family assigned to the file when the file was first added to the archive. 40. Previously, if a file extension were deleted from a file family then the version control manager would encounter an error during check in. The version control manager now determines whether the file extension is still included in the file family. If the file extension is still included, it asks you about the situation. 41. All archive tables are now created as Level 5 Paradox tables. Previously, the file storage tables were created at Level 7. This resulted in the 16-bit release being unable to read the tables. 42. When checking out a file, the date and time are now set to the date and time of the latest version in the archive. Previously, the file was set to the current date and time. 43. If the first page were skipped in the Get Latest or Check Out wizards, the Overwrite Handling parameter was ignored. Overwrite handling now takes effect even if the first page of the wizard is skipped. 44. The Maintenance page of the Archive Tool now displays the total size of each table. Prior to this release, only the size of the *.DB files was displayed. Known problems in the current release: -------------------------------------- * 16-bit release only: If you do the following then the BDE may become corrupt: 1. Start and use the Archive Explorer. 2. Start Delphi 1.x and use the ViCiouS Pro interface. 3. Shut down the Archive Explorer. 4. Use Delphi 1.x This does not damage your archive. It appears that if you shut down the first application using the BDE while the other application is active then the BDE may be corrupted. You will then either need to remove the BDE DLLs from memory with the help of a utility or reboot your workstation. This problem was actually present in Release 1.00.03. This problem also occurs when running the Admin Tool and Archive Explorer at the same time. We are investigating this problem. * When checking in files, ViCiouS Pro uses the date stamp of the primary file as the modification date. Instead, ViCiouS Pro should find the most recently modified file in the file family and use that date stamp as the modification date. This may affect the Synchronize operation. * If you check in a project file through the IDE using the Check In xxx.DPR menu option (instead of Check In Project File), you may receive the message "File is already loaded in another editor" when the IDE attempts to re-open the project. * The Differences Viewer has not been upgraded to the current Beyond Compare release. Limitations in the current release: ----------------------------------- * Cannot Customize a previous version of a shared file. Customize is currently enabled for only the latest version of a shared file. * Files cannot be renamed once they are added to the archive. * Archive directories cannot be renamed once they are created. Technical Support ----------------- SureHand Software is committed to delivering quality products. If you should encounter problems with this product or have questions concerning its use, contact SureHand Software through one of the following means: Email: Support@SureHand.com Web site: http://www.surehand.com/feedback.htm Mailing address: SureHand Software 8816 Manchester, Box 193 St. Louis, MO 63144 Phone: (314) 963-1935 Fax: (314) 968-2964 Barring holidays and vacation, SureHand Software will respond within two business days upon receipt of a problem or question. SureHand Software is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 157-F Love Ave., Greenwood, IN 46142 USA, FAX 317-888-2195, or send email to omb@asp-shareware.org. Copyright/Warranty/License -------------------------- Your use of this software indicates your understanding and acceptance of the following license agreement and warranty. If you do not understand or accept these terms, you must cease and desist using this product immediately. For additional information about the evaluation period, please see the Evaluation Policies. Copyright --------- This product (in whole or in part, including all files, data, and documentation, from here on referred to as "Product") is (c) Copyright 1997-1998 SureHand Software, all rights reserved, and is protected by United States copyright laws, international treaties and all other applicable national or international laws. The sole owner of this product is SureHand Software. LIMITED WARRANTY ---------------- This evaluation version of ViCiouS Pro is provided for evaluation only, on an "as is" basis. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SUREHAND SOFTWARE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES RELATING TO THIS SOFTWARE, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NEITHER THE SELLER OF THIS SOFTWARE NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF THIS SOFTWARE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE SUCH SOFTWARE, EVEN IF THE SELLER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE SELLER'S LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES EVER EXCEED THE PRICE PAID FOR THE LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE CLAIM. THE PERSON USING THE SOFTWARE BEARS ALL RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE. Restrictions ------------ You may not use, copy, modify, translate, or transfer the product or any copy except as expressly defined in this agreement. You may not attempt to unlock or bypass any copy-protection or authentication algorithm utilized by this product. You may not remove or modify any copyright notice, nor any "about" dialog or the method by which it may be invoked. License for Use and Distribution -------------------------------- This software is made available to you for evaluation purposes. You are not obtaining title to the software or any copyright rights. You may install and use this product on one or more personal computers, in either a single-user or multiple-user configuration. Each person may evaluate the product for a period of up to 30 days or 60 tries, whichever comes first. If you use this software after the evaluation period, a registration fee is required. When payment is received, you will be given authorization codes and/or pre-payment tokens that provide full and unlimited access to the product. Limited Distribution License ---------------------------- Permission is granted to individuals charging no fees, and to BBSes User Groups, Mail-Order Disk Vendors, CD-ROM publishers, and BBS File-Distribution Networks, Networks regardless of fees, to distribute ViCiouS Pro, provided they convey a complete and unaltered copy of this product, and provided they claim no ownership of these products.