SoftLanding Enhances Open Source Change Management System

by Alex Woodie

SoftLanding Systems is helping to bring sophisticated version control within the grasps of non-technical workers with the latest release of TurnOverSVN, the iSeries-based version of a popular open-source change management system that it introduced earlier this year. iSeries shops implementing TurnOverSVN version 1.2 will find a new auto versioning feature that can be used on desktop PCs, as well as a new file-locking feature that will save Java, Web, and PC developers time and frustration.

SoftLanding enthusiastically embraced the open-source development model when it introduced TurnOverSVN and Subversion for OS/400--two OS/400 implementations of the open source Subversion source control system, one free, the other for-fee--at the spring COMMON conference in Chicago (see "SoftLanding Goes Open Source with TurnOverSVN").

TurnOverSVN helps iSeries shops manage their Java, PC, and Web development activities by implementing a source code repository for these environments that runs on the iSeries IFS system. The software, which does not help manage RPG and COBOL development, is implemented as a module of TurnOver, SoftLanding's flagship change management application for traditional OS/400 development. Companies that do not want or need their traditional iSeries and Java, PC, and Web change management environments connected through TurnOver can use Subversion for OS/400, which is freely available from SoftLanding and the Tigris.org community under an open-source license.

With the debut of TurnOverSVN version 1.2 and Subversion for OS/400 version 1.2, SoftLanding has introduced some new features designed to make Java, PC, and Web developers--as well as non-technical office workers--more productive. One of these is a new file-locking capability that works within the TurnOverSVN copy-modify-merge development model. This new features automatically alerts developers when they are working a file, such as graphics or binary files, that cannot be merged contextually, thereby saving them time and avoiding the frustration of trying to merge a file that cannot be merged, SoftLanding says.

The other major new feature in TurnOverSVN 1.2 is support for the distributed authoring and versioning (WebDAV) standard, which basically converts the TurnOverSVN repository into a network share and extends automated versioning to desktop PCs. This feature will enable the tracking of changes that non-technical users make to their files, such as Word documents or Excel spreadsheets.

Whenever a user saves his file to a designated folder, that document is automatically versioned in the background, enabling technical personnel to pull up past versions of a document, if the need arises. Users must be running the Apache Web server as their TurnOverSVN server to use the new DAV autoversioning capability, SoftLanding says.

Because TurnOverSVN and Subversion for OS/400 are based on the same code, the new features that SoftLanding has introduced with TurnOverSVN version 1.2 are also available with Subversion for OS/400 version 1.2. While there is no charge for TurnOverSVN, it does require a $200-per-developer subscription fee. This fee helps pay for, and entitles the developer to, unlimited technical support from SoftLanding and the peace of mind that comes from knowing that SoftLanding has thoroughly tested TurnOverSVN's integration with the regular TurnOver for iSeries product. Technical support for Subversion for OS/400 can be found via user forums and mailing lists hosted by the Tigris.org.

The version 1.2 releases of TurnOverSVN and Subversion for OS/400 work with OS/400 V5R1 and higher and are available now. More information and downloads are available at the SoftLanding Web site at www.softlanding.com and at Tigris' Subversion Web site at .