GitHub?

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taracoulson
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GitHub?

Post by taracoulson »

Hey fellow Flare gurus,

My development team recently switched to GitHub source control and I was wondering if any of you had researched using it for Flare projects and output? I cannot find anything aside from source code examples on their web site. It seems to have a lot of great features for code development - just lacking in details about file storage and versioning.

Thanks!
Tara
RamonS
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Re: GitHub?

Post by RamonS »

Flare can work with any source control system that supports the MSSSC API. Based on my basic search it appears as that GitHub does not support this proprietary API. You may want to look for plug-ins that provide compatibility with the MSSSC API for git.
Eric Lachance
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Re: GitHub?

Post by Eric Lachance »

Tara,

Don't be fooled - you're not locked into what MadCap thinks is a valid source control system (which, according to them, is whatever Microsoft can come up with). If you don't mind doing a little bit of extra manipulation, you can very easily use GIT on its own to do your checkouts, branching, commits, etc. You just won't do it straight from the Flare interface. It also gives you the extra features you want like versioning, and even putting multiple projects in a single repository if that's what works for you.

With my experiences with trying to use an MSSSC plugin with a CVS repository, I would strongly advise against even trying to use it - the external plugin support in Flare is marginal at best.
Eric Lachance
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RamonS
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Re: GitHub?

Post by RamonS »

Eric Lachance wrote:With my experiences with trying to use an MSSSC plugin with a CVS repository, I would strongly advise against even trying to use it - the external plugin support in Flare is marginal at best.
Which, as well, is not MadCap's fault. The API is properly documented, but some plugins implement the API better than others and translate the commands more or less successfully.
Eric Lachance
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Re: GitHub?

Post by Eric Lachance »

That's a little like saying you should create all your websites with pure, correctly formatted HTML 5 and CSS 3, and completely ignore the fact that some browsers don't follow standards 100% and your website may look like crap on one of them.

Following Standards/APIs/etc are one thing - not caring about the fact that a fair number of people actually use TamTam and PushOK in Flare and they don't work with this API 100% of the time is another. Bending the rules is a given when a company says their software "supports" 3rd party plugins.

Of course, that's only my opinion, which stems from my bad experiences with source control in Flare. But you don't have to take my word for it.
Eric Lachance
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Objectif Lune Inc.
RamonS
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Re: GitHub?

Post by RamonS »

Eric Lachance wrote:That's a little like saying you should create all your websites with pure, correctly formatted HTML 5 and CSS 3, and completely ignore the fact that some browsers don't follow standards 100% and your website may look like crap on one of them.
Which is exactly what web developers should do. Otherwise we shouldn't even bother with standards, which some do and the result is crapware like IE or non-functioning source control plugins for Flare. That said, HTML5 isn't an approved standard yet, but everyone is already starting to use their own interpretation of it. What's the point of a standard when it gets maliciously ignored and some applaud this approach.
If there isn't a working plug-in for use with Git then going the external route is indeed the way to go, but that isn't because MadCap screwed up.
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