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How to Install and Configure Altium (view source)
Revision as of 23:46, 1 January 2017
, 23:46, 1 January 2017→A Brief Introduction to SVN: Allllllmost done
==A Brief Introduction to SVN==
==A Brief Introduction to SVN==
This is the last part of this guide! You have actually already completed the installation and configuration of Altium; this step is intended to give you a quick introduction to SVN and how to use it. If you're already familiar with SVN, skip to the [[#Your First Commit|last task]].
This is the last part of this guide! You have actually already completed the installation and configuration of Altium; this step is intended to give you a quick introduction to SVN and how to use it. You will not need Altium for this last step; if you're completing this tutorial at a time when others are likely to also be working through it, close Altium, as that will free up licenses for others to use. If you're already familiar with SVN, skip to the [[#Your First Commit|last task]].
===Background===
===Background===
An SVN repository is a series of "snapshots" of a folder over time. Each snapshot is called a '''commit''', and represents the state of the folder and some or all of its contents at a moment in time.
An SVN repository is a series of "snapshots" of a folder over time. Each snapshot is called a '''commit''', and represents the state of the folder and some or all of its contents at a moment in time. Commits are created by users (aka you) when they want to preserve a version of the files they are working on - this typically happens after making a group of changes to files stored in the SVN repository (ie. after adding a part to a library or making progress on a circuit schematic or circuit board).
Any file can be stored in an SVN repository, and the repository can detect any change to any file. With TortoiseSVN installed, tracked files in an SVN repository which have been edited since the last commit will have a small red exclamation point displayed on their icon when viewed in a folder. New files created in your Altium SVN folder will not automatically be tracked - this is intentional, and a good thing.
Unlike other version control systems, "branches" do not work in SVN. All commits in an SVN repository contain changes that directly follow the commit before them, and can have only a single commit that follows after them. Because of this, SVN users can '''lock''' files and folders, becoming the only person allowed to commit changes to that file or folder. Other users can still edit the files, but their changes cannot be committed, making those edits futile. TortoiseSVN shows when a file has been locked by someone else, to help keep you from trying to edit something that somebody else is working on. Locking exists so that two users cannot try to commit different versions of the same file - someone who opens a file and knows they will commit changes to it soon can lock the file, marking the fact that they started editing the file first and so should be allowed to complete and commit their changes before anyone else. Locks can be taken away from someone who locks a file for an extended period of time, preventing abuse of this feature.
Changes other people make to files stored in the SVN must be downloaded manually, through the SVN '''update''' command. Updating replaces any files in your SVN folder that have been changed since the last time you ran SVN update with their most recently committed versions. You can see if there are new SVN commits to download in the {{slack-channel|altium}} channel, where notices of new commits are automatically posted.
Future tutorials will discuss when and how to add files and how to use Altium's SVN commands; below, we will briefly discuss how to generally commit file changes to the SVN repository.
===Your First Commit===
===Your First Commit===
In your SSI Altium SVN folder, find "iwuzhere.txt." This file is tracked by the SVN repository, and should have a small green check mark on it. Right click on the file, mouse down to "TortoiseSVN," and then click "Get lock..." Click OK on any windows that appear. A small lock icon should appear on the file - you now have the lock on this file.
If the file was already locked by someone else, you will not be able to lock it, and should message the {{slack-channel|altium}} to ask to lock it. If you do not receive a response within 10 minutes, lock the file as described above, and check "Steal the locks" to take the lock from whomever had it previously. Slack is how locking conflicts like this (which are rare) are resolved, and 10 minutes is a short period of time to wait for a response, but this file is simple and very little work is lost from stealing the lock on it.
Open the file, and add your name and the current date, matching the format of the names already there. Welcome to SSI's corps of electrical engineers!
To finish, go back to your Altium SVN folder, right click ''not'' on any file or folder, and mouse down to "SVN Commit..." and click it. A dialog bog will come up (see right)
[[Category: Altium]]
[[Category: Altium]]