Let's say I want to create a spinoff of a chat application branded under a different name, different UI, and some changed features. How would one sync changes between these to codebases which are 80% the same?
EDIT: Already use git.
+1
A:
You should look into using a distributed code repository, if it is usually a one-way sync (main development pushes to spinoff project).
Mercurial is one of the most popular DCR There are many distributed code repository systems. The website provide a nice tutorial.
notnoop
2009-11-05 04:24:57
Look at subversion, git, bazaar. I hear good things about git for really distributed source management.
Jim Garrison
2009-11-05 04:25:46
@Jim, SVN isn't good for this case scenario I think. Added a reference to `hg` which is a bit easier to use than `git` for new comers IMHO.
notnoop
2009-11-05 04:28:06
+5
A:
This is a pretty generic question and one that should be covered in any basic Software Engineering course.
I'd start with:
- SCM (Source CodeManagement) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source%5FCode%5FManagement
- Separate 'shared' code into libraries (either statically or dynamically linked)
There is a whole field of experts and products on this topic - revision control and merging.
Josh
2009-11-05 04:25:49