Can I get GIT style branch visualisations from Team Foundation Server (TFS)?

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Can I get GIT style branch visualisations from Team Foundation Server (TFS)?

Hi,

As an avid user of GIT, I've come to absolutely love its branch support, in particular being able to visualise all the branches in a repository over time.

Unfortunately though we have a requirement to use TFS, but I know it has some strong visualisation features. I know you can visualise 'ChangeSets', but as far as I'm aware, this only tracks the progress of a changeset.

To me, this just seems a little shallow, if you can only see two ChangeSets at once. Why not show them in context with all the other branches and ChangeSets?

So is there any sort of 'All branches' visualisation showing all ChangeSets, or am I dreaming? Is there any other sort of 'over-time' visualisation failing that?

Any links to resources regarding visualisations are also welcome! :)

Ta,

Andy.

** Update **

This is the kind of visualisation I'm talking about:

Screen of GIT branch technique

I'm not sure if this is "git style" or not, but since you're using TFS 2010, you should be able to use the branch visualization described here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd465202%28VS.100%29.aspx

Robaticus 2010-07-21 18:21:51

Its close, but I it misses out commits and activity within the visualisation (i.e. just a branch heirachy). I think maybe TFS is just a completely different methodology to GIT, which is why perhaps they don't support it!

Andy 2010-07-22 07:36:25

There's another feature under 2010 which tracks revisions. Unfortunately, here at work we're still running 2008, so I can't check it out for you. If you view history on a file, there's a button at the toolbar on the history window that can give you a visualization.

Robaticus 2010-07-22 13:44:02

It's not so much that it's a different methodology, but that feature just isn't there. There is no reason that you can't use many or most of the techniques inherent in git usages within TFS. When using TFS I consider branches just as disposable as I would in Hg or git. Branch do your thing, merge, destroy the branch. You don't lose history as many people think and the history shows your old branch commits under the merge commit (in 2010).

Ryan Cromwell 2010-07-23 03:08:10

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Can I get GIT style branch visualisations from Team Foundation Server (TFS)?

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