Let's say I want to create a spinoff of a chat application branded under a different name, different UI, and some changed features. How would one sync changes between these to codebases which are 80% the same?
EDIT: Already use git.
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This is a pretty generic question and one that should be covered in any basic Software Engineering course.
I'd start with:
- SCM (Source CodeManagement) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_Code_Management
- Separate 'shared' code into libraries (either statically or dynamically linked)
There is a whole field of experts and products on this topic - revision control and merging.
Josh
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2+1 very valuable suggestion. Have a library for the common code, and have the applications have the context specific-code. – notnoop Nov 05 '09 at 04:29
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thanks! already use git. good suggestion for libraries - thanks! – Mark Bao Nov 05 '09 at 07:33
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You should look into using a distributed code repository, if it is usually a one-way sync (main development pushes to spinoff project).
Mercurial is one of the most popular DCR There are many distributed code repository systems. The website provide a nice tutorial.
notnoop
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Look at subversion, git, bazaar. I hear good things about git for really distributed source management. – Jim Garrison Nov 05 '09 at 04:25
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@Jim, SVN isn't good for this case scenario I think. Added a reference to `hg` which is a bit easier to use than `git` for new comers IMHO. – notnoop Nov 05 '09 at 04:28