• Changes from a parent branch to a workspace to include other user's changes.
• Changes from a workspace to a parent branch to include changes in the main strand.
• Changes between branches to keep common parts up to date.

Merging changes from a parent branch to a workspace is known as 'integration'.
Merging changes from a workspace to the parent, or between is known as 'promotion'.

Because all testing and validation is performed within a workspace and should be done with an up to date file set CodeMatrix will not allow promotion of a workspace when there are unintegrated changes pending in the parent branch.

CXInsight provides wizards to guide you through the process of integration and promotion. Right click the branch or workspace and select 'Integrate' or 'Promote'. The wizards are similar, the differences are noted in the description of the integrate wizard below.

The selection confirmation page below allows the user to double check the selection. CodeMatrix determines the 'natural' targets for the operation based on previous branching operations and lists the choices where appropriate. For an integration operation there is only ever one source, the parent branch shown on the left below and one target,  the selected workspace shown on the right below.

For a promotion operation between branches a mounted workspace is needed in the target branch.

Notice that the direction of change flow is clearly indicated.



Note that integration into checked out files is supported, but not recommend. If changes are integrated into a checked out file there is no mechanism to return to the previous state. It is therefore recommended that files be checked in before integration.

The 'promote' wizard has the following extra option

Files must be checked in before promotion. Selecting this option instructs CodeMatrix to check in the workspace files automatically.

The next stage is the automated merge. During this stage a screen with the following items is shown.

You can track the progress of the merge and tailor the display with the options shown.

For integrate only; if any conflicting changes are found the 'manual conflict resolution' page is shown. Because promotion of unintegrated changes is not permitted conflicts can not occur during promotion operations.

Use the options on this page to analyse and resolve each conflicting change. The following screen shot show a typical conflict in a text file. Select the most appropriate option button on the right to resolve the conflict. The actions of the buttons are described below with reference to the example screen shot. Once all conflicts for a file are resolved the program moves on to the next file with conflicts. You can select any file from the conflict list if you wish to process the files in a different order. Once all files are dealt with the wizard moves on to the final screen.

 

Accept their change

The following line is inserted into the target file in the conflict location.

#include "NewInclude.h"

Accept our change

The following line is inserted into the target file in the conflict location.

#include "NewInclude2.h"

Accept both changes

The following lines are inserted into the target file in the conflict location.

#include "NewInclude.h"
#include "NewInclude2.h"

Keep conflict

The following lines are inserted into the target file in the conflict location. Note that the conflict start marker is changed so CodeMatrix no longer considers this a conflict. The conflict will still need to be resolved manually later.

->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CodeMatrix detected conflict start (1) >>>>>>>>>>>>
#include "NewInclude.h"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CodeMatrix detected conflict start (2) >>>>>>>>>>>>>
#include "NewInclude2.h"
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< CodeMatrix detected conflict end <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Edit Merged file

The default editor for the file type specified in CXInsight options is launched for the target file. You can then resolve the conflicts manually. Remove or change the marker tags to indicate to CodeMatrix that the conflict is resolved.

Accept merged

The target file is accepted complete with all conflicts and markers.

For non-text files a slightly different screen is show with the following options. You can choose to edit either file and subsequently accept your edited file or either unchanged file.