The fastest SCM tool available for firmware development

Question

At my company, we are currently using Rational clearcase as a software configuration management tool for our Embedded software development. The software is mainly intended for cars to be specific to engines (I don't think this information really matters). But I believe that Clearcase works very slowly, performs any actions (access to files, branching and marking), in addition to which there are other other restrictions.

Recently, we decided to explore some free and open distributed version control system that could quickly and efficiently handle our large projects. This tool should be a full repository with a complete history and full version tracking capabilities that are independent of network access or a central server. Branching and merging are quick and easy. It must have a multi-level development tool.

In accordance with the above requirement, we came up with some tools that are currently available on the market:

GIT, Mercurial, Bazaar, Subversion, CVS, Perforce, and Visual SourceSafe.

I need help finding the right SCM tool for me that meets the above requirements.

Thanking you at Advance, Rahamath.

Answer 1

We use ClearCase (with benefits and pain points ) and we are considering DVCS .

We are currently introducing Git, both on Windows (msysgit) and on the "central" Solaris server, which meets our needs in terms of merging , as well as in terms of distribution (for offshore development)

But we need to configure the "central" repositories for developers to use as a reference, and for this we had to use gitolite (pu branch) for its thin level of access (repo, branch, directory access for each user or for each group, ldap-based)

Integration with Eclipse continues , and we are confident in the level of support, since all Eclipse projects have switched from CVS to Git (so they are ready to support it).

Mercurial has been reviewed and can certainly offer the same level of capabilities, but has a complex branching model .
Git does not have an extension to install. It just works (with a learning curve that we manage to maintain at a reasonable level through user support services)

Answer 2

Mercurial or Git are the most popular distributed version control systems. I believe that Git has an advantage in speed, especially when committing, branching, and merging. Moreover, his merge algorithm is the best I've come across; most mergers can be processed automatically without user input.

From my own experience, I would recommend Git without hesitation if not for its steep learning curve. However, I believe that much of this is due to a paradigm shift when switching to DVCS, for example, in that pushing and pulling occurs, as the repositories are decentralized.

Subversion, CVS, Perforce, and SourceSafe are not covered; in addition, Perforce and SourceSafe are neither free nor open source. CVS is almost deprecated, and Subversion is its natural successor, so I would not consider it.

Answer 3

If you want something "not dependent on network access or a central server," then centralized SCMs from your list should be sent (Subversion, CVS, p4).

If you need a cross platform, I think Visual Source Safe will have to go.

Also, you mentioned Open Source, which produces p4 and Visual Source Safe.

CVS is pretty old, and if you plan to use it, it is best to ignore it and use SVN instead.

Git is something you can add to the list, but it does not support windows as well as bzr and mercurial.

I use git myself, but I develop exclusively on Gnu / Linux and therefore cannot comment on Windows support. It’s also a little freaky, but once you get used to it, it can be very powerful. There is a problem with the training curve, so you may have to spend some time training your team on the instrument.

Bzr, I do not know. The last time I touched it, it had problems with the repository format and it was terribly slow. Now it is much better, but I was amazed at my first exposure.

Hg is sweet and works fine on windows and Gnu / Linux, but since I used git quite heavily, I skip some of them on hg.

Answer 4

At work, we are also not satisfied with ClearCase for some reason ... Very slowly updating large projects (especially if not a local network) ...

We (not me) compared some products, and Mercurial was chosen for a future solution.