Using Git with VB6

Question

Our company has a large codebase in VB6, and we currently use VSS which, for all that we hate about it, at least integrates into the VB6 IDE.

My own team, which is using .NET, are now looking into alternative SCMs like my personal favourite, Git. With Git Extensions, it seems we will be able to integrate Git commands into the Visual Studio IDE pretty well.

However, the question has been asked: could Git be used for our VB6 codebase too?

Of course I assume the files themselves would work fine in git repositories, but no doubt developers would complain if they had to use the command-line to do all their source control. But has anyone had any experience using VB6 and Git? Any integration available from within the VB6 IDE? Or is it perhaps not that much of a hassle to not have the IDE integration?

And do I get a badge for being the first to create the absurd tag combination of [vb6] and [git]?

Answer 1

What's so different about VB6 as a code base (i.e. text files) that makes it not suitable for git?

The culture is another matter altogether: if you have plenty of incompetent developers who can't handle the command line, the cure would probably include running away from VB6 as far as you can.

The only potential problem is that windows in the git world is somewhat of a second class citizen. You might wanna try bazaar or mercurial if you find git doesn't work very well in your environment.

Answer 2

You know your developers best. Will they mind using the command line? Are they keen on IDE integration? These are personal preferences.

Make sure the most respected developers understand the benefits of git and are behind the decision.

Do be aware that some VB6 source files are binary and shouldn't ever be merged: e.g. .frx files. I don't know git, so I don't know whether that's a problem.

Answer 3

Been using Git to manage VB6 projects for about a year now. Never came across any IDE integration. Personally I like the command line, so I've not been looking much. The two major issues I've encountered are:

1. VB6 IDE doesn't monitor the project files, if any of them is changed externally (e.g. using 'git reset', 'git checkout') then the project needs to be re-opened to reflect the changes.
2. VB6 IDE will sometimes change the case of event parameters or variables when loading a project, so it's never safe to use 'git commit --all' unless you want a lot of garbage with your code changes.