Software testing Version/Revision Control

Hans17 · 19-08-2013 10:35am #1

I work in software testing but the company I work for is not an IT company. We use QTP to automate our testing and have a lot of VBscript files and excel worksheets that everyone uses and updates. We have no real revision/version control for these files and it is hard to keep track of what has been updated and by who etc. I was wondering is there any tool out there that would help. I was thinking about some sort of repository that we could check the files in and out of. In any case I am looking for the cheapest and simplest option.

Thanks in advance

CreepingDeath · 19-08-2013 11:39am

Apache Subversion is a free open source version control system.

Plus TortoiseSVN is a handy Windows Explorer plugin which lets you check-in/check-out the files from SubVersion via Windows Explorer when you right click on a folder/file.

ChRoMe · 19-08-2013 12:16pm

CreepingDeath wrote: »

Apache Subversion is a free open source version control system.

Plus TortoiseSVN is a handy Windows Explorer plugin which lets you check-in/check-out the files from SubVersion via Windows Explorer when you right click on a folder/file.

Another vote for subversion.

scottd4 · 19-08-2013 12:42pm

Another option is BitBucket which is free for a team of 5 people

Hans17 · 19-08-2013 1:38pm

Thanks everyone very helpful!

John_Mc · 19-08-2013 3:13pm

Microsoft Team Foundation Services is free for 5 users or less

Aswerty · 19-08-2013 5:37pm

If you're going to be implementing a version control system you should read up on what the difference is between Centralised (CVCS) and Distributed (DVCS) version control systems. The above mentioned Subversion is a CVCS and it is probably the most mature and most used of its kind. Git is the most popular DVCS at the moment and for a lot of people is preferable to using the likes of Subversion for reasons I won't get into (though they typically revolve around the work flow). Personally I use Mercurial which is very similar to Git. It is quite common for companies to use an online service to host their central repository when using DVCS. These online services include some great tools for managing your source code beyond what the version control software provides, examples are Github and BitBucket.

lemon_remon · 19-08-2013 6:51pm

IMO, Git is superior to pretty much every VCS in every aspect bar learning curve. You can also run Git without github. You'll just need to setup your own Git server and there are plenty of guides for this. With credential management and reliability github might be a better choice though.

ChRoMe · 19-08-2013 9:23pm

lemon_remon wrote: »

IMO, Git is superior to pretty much every VCS in every aspect bar learning curve. You can also run Git without github. You'll just need to setup your own Git server and there are plenty of guides for this. With credential management and reliability github might be a better choice though.

Considering the audience*, keeping it simple is a good idea. Most people with basic computer knowledge can easily follow the concept of check in and check outs. Adding distribution is overkill for the files being described.

*Just to clarify, considering the OP wasn't even sure of such a system, I'm assuming basic knowledge.

lemon_remon · 19-08-2013 11:17pm

ChRoMe wrote: »

Considering the audience*, keeping it simple is a good idea. Most people with basic computer knowledge can easily follow the concept of check in and check outs. Adding distribution is overkill for the files being described.

*Just to clarify, considering the OP wasn't even sure of such a system, I'm assuming basic knowledge.

The GUI Github client for Windows/OS X is very decent for basic tasks but I get what you mean.

Aswerty · 20-08-2013 8:38am

ChRoMe wrote: »

Considering the audience*, keeping it simple is a good idea. Most people with basic computer knowledge can easily follow the concept of check in and check outs. Adding distribution is overkill for the files being described.

*Just to clarify, considering the OP wasn't even sure of such a system, I'm assuming basic knowledge.

I know when I started using Mercurial the distributed model did cause me a few hang up with regards to reverting and rolling back locally and then trying to push changes on to the central repository. I guess my head wasn't fully wrapped around the distributed model.

Though I think this is a case of any decision is better than no decision. I expect Git or Subversion would both add a huge amount of value to their current setup (or Mercurial which has a shallower learning curve than Git). If you go with Subversion anyone who wants to use Git can do so in a nearly seamless fashion.

croo · 20-08-2013 9:35am

I'm not sure what benefits version control systems designed for code will have for excel files. These are effectively binary files right? So the mechanisms in these systems to allow you to view and compare versions will not be applicable in this case, or not?

Also if the excel files include VBA code (perhaps this is what the OP refers to by VB Script?) it will have no version control. Sounds like we have, potentially, two things in one; the code whose source code would typically be managed by the VCS and the data in the spreadsheet [that would be managed by the application].

Best case scenario that I see is that the VCS will keep historical copies of the files - but a good file naming convention (& backup procedure) would accomplish the same thing!

Graham · 20-08-2013 9:47am

+1 Sounds more like it could be document management than version control

ChRoMe · 20-08-2013 10:43am

croo wrote: »

I'm not sure what benefits version control systems designed for code will have for excel files. These are effectively binary files right? So the mechanisms in these systems to allow you to view and compare versions will not be applicable in this case, or not?

Also if the excel files include VBA code (perhaps this is what the OP refers to by VB Script?) it will have no version control. Sounds like we have, potentially, two things in one; the code whose source code would typically be managed by the VCS and the data in the spreadsheet [that would be managed by the application].

Best case scenario that I see is that the VCS will keep historical copies of the files - but a good file naming convention (& backup procedure) would accomplish the same thing!

New excel files are essentially XML, so in that case its a fine choice. A good naming convention has far too many points of failure (i.e I guarantee you people will **** it up).

You will end up with file names such as "thisisfinal.doc" "reallyreallyfinal.doc" "ImeanitthistimeFINAL.doc"

Graham · 20-08-2013 11:04am

If one of the requirements is tracking the who/what/when of changes and updates, it would probably be worth thinking about a replacement for the Excel spreadsheets rather than trying to work out how to get Excel to do it.

croo · 20-08-2013 11:14am

ChRoMe wrote: »

New excel files are essentially XML, so in that case its a fine choice. A good naming convention has far too many points of failure (i.e I guarantee you people will **** it up).

You will end up with file names such as "thisisfinal.doc" "reallyreallyfinal.doc" "ImeanitthistimeFINAL.doc"

That is a point okay, but even using the VCS you'd still need to trust users to save in the correct (XML) format.

But, if the excel files (and their potential embedded code) are xml then a VCS might work but even so I do think Graham is right - a DMS seems like a better fit. And, there are nearly as many open source DMS as VCS to choose from! As developers we might see the VCS as the same thing but you know what they say about having a good hammer ... everything begins to look like nail.

ChRoMe · 20-08-2013 11:41am

croo wrote: »

That is a point okay, but even using the VCS you'd still need to trust users to save in the correct (XML) format.

But, if the excel files (and their potential embedded code) are xml then a VCS might work but even so I do think Graham is right - a DMS seems like a better fit. And, there are nearly as many open source DMS as VCS to choose from! As developers we might see the VCS as the same thing but you know what they say about having a good hammer ... everything begins to look like nail.

Absolutely, all valid points. It doesn't even matter if the files are binary, again judging by the audience they wont be using complex comparison/merge features.

Also the reason for keeping the recommendation to be a VCS is that people in this forum can advise/support on that rather than some random open source DMS that no one can really recommend.

Graham · 20-08-2013 11:55am

ChRoMe wrote: »

Also the reason for keeping the recommendation to be a VCS is that people in this forum can advise/support on that rather than some random open source DMS that no one can really recommend.

Ahhhh, we all use hammers for this type of screw therefore we know what sort of hammers to recommend. I like it.

Maybe a DMS isn't the way to go, it depends what's being tracked in the spreadsheets.

Bug tracking could probably move to a bug tracking system.
Change requests could probably...........

I'm sure you can see where this is going.

ChRoMe · 20-08-2013 12:22pm

Graham wrote: »

Ahhhh, we all use hammers for this type of screw therefore we know what sort of hammers to recommend. I like it.

Maybe a DMS isn't the way to go, it depends what's being tracked in the spreadsheets.

Bug tracking could probably move to a bug tracking system.
Change requests could probably...........

I'm sure you can see where this is going.

These are not documents.... In addition the point is valid, responding to the OP here and saying "go google open source DMS" is unhelpful at the least at the worst its dismissive.

Telling him to use a zip drive, or something equally as ridiculous.. then your broken analogy may have some relevance.

ChRoMe · 20-08-2013 12:25pm

Graham wrote: »

Ahhhh, we all use hammers for this type of screw therefore we know what sort of hammers to recommend. I like it.

Maybe a DMS isn't the way to go, it depends what's being tracked in the spreadsheets.

Bug tracking could probably move to a bug tracking system.
Change requests could probably...........

I'm sure you can see where this is going.

Also bug tracking, change requests, etc are usually held in the same system. JIRA is a popular choice.

Graham · 20-08-2013 12:33pm

ChRoMe wrote: »

"go google open source DMS" is unhelpful at the least at the worst its dismissive.

Double checked my previous posts, could find absolutely no reference to "go Google" anywhere. I did find a post where I agreed with CROO about his previous post and I suggested that sounded like a DMS.

ChRoMe wrote:

JIRA is a popular choice.

+1

I think you've hit the nail on the head :pac: assuming of course that the OP uses the spreadsheets for bug tracking/change requests etc.

stevenmu · 21-08-2013 10:29am

For Excel files I would recommend SharePoint. SharePoint Foundation (the "free" version) will give you some great document management capabilities such as:
-Version control: you can track major versions only, or major/minor. It also integrates well with Excel itself, which will let you view previous versions and revert back etc.
-Check in/out: You can optionally enforce this to make sure only one person will try to edit the document
-Metadata: you can tag your files with extra metadata to make them easier to sort and find.

SharePoint will also give you an absolute ton of other functionality, and deciding what to use and how to use it can be a massive project. But, if you just want basic doc management for your own team it can be very easy to set up and use.

If you do really want to go with a traditional source control solution, I would suggest a Centralised VCS like Subversion or Team Foundation System/Services. As was mentioned earlier, Excel files will be essentially binary files* as far as the VCS is concerned. This basically means that if two or more people make changes, then those changes can't be merged, someone's changes will be overwritten.

Centralised VCS allow you to "Lock" a file so only one user at a time can edit it. Distributed systems like Git don't allow this (afaik).

ChRoMe wrote:

New excel files are essentially XML, so in that case its a fine choice.

The are XML, but they're a bunch of XML files zipped into an archive. I don't think any VCS will recognise that and allow for merging?

jester77 · 21-08-2013 10:48am

Do you have actual code or is everything embedded in an excel file?

Presuming you have scripts then some form of VCS is must. I am a huge fan of git but there are other options out there.

For git, Github and bitbucket will provide you with cheap packages for a small team, as already mentioned. There are free options but that means either making your repo public or having a very limited number of contributors to the project, they are really not ideal for the enterprise.

If privacy is an issue then you could try github enterprise to host it in house, but that would be overkill and expensive for what you want.

A nice project is the open source project gitlab, that would be ideal for what you want. It also includes issue management. The only costs would be the server that hosts it.

Software testing Version/Revision Control

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