Hi,
I am looking for advice about how to manage my squeak image and my squeak code. I suppose these are two different things requiring different strategies for the management of each.
Here's what I've been doing so far:
1) With my image I've resorted to making a copy of the whole squeak directory - VM and everything before I update/download packages from the web repository. This seems kind of ... primitive but I can't think of an alternative. Are there better practices?
2) For code - I write the change sets out to file periodically and copy them away. Again primitive and unsatisfactory. Particularly since I have no way to tie them to the state of the image when I backed them up.
I understand that there are various package and code managers such as Monticello available. What should I be using? What are the current Squeak best practices in this area?
Thanks ( in advance ) for your help.
Rob.
Hi Rob and all!
Rob Lally smalltalk@roblally.plus.com wrote:
Hi,
I am looking for advice about how to manage my squeak image and my squeak code. I suppose these are two different things requiring different strategies for the management of each.
Yeah. :)
Here's what I've been doing so far:
- With my image I've resorted to making a copy of the whole squeak
directory - VM and everything before I update/download packages from the web repository. This seems kind of ... primitive but I can't think of an alternative. Are there better practices?
Eh... that seems unnecessary. First of all - you write "download packages from the web repository" - are you referring to SqueakMap? If so - I hope you are aware of the SqueakMap Package Loader tool inside Squeak?
If you *do* use the package loader (as you should, as long as you are downloading/installing stuff from SM) then you can safely have multiple images/changes-file pairs in the same directory.
In short - what you can do if you want a "safety snapshot" before you start messing around - use "save as..." and save the image under a new name or use "save as new version". This will create a new image/changes-pair and leave the current one for rollback purposes.
So there is no need to backup the sources file (doesn't change), the VM (doesn't change) nor the "sm" directory (same contents regardless of image you use).
- For code - I write the change sets out to file periodically and copy
them away. Again primitive and unsatisfactory. Particularly since I have no way to tie them to the state of the image when I backed them up.
I understand that there are various package and code managers such as Monticello available. What should I be using? What are the current Squeak best practices in this area?
Best practice today is to use Monticello. Much better, simpler and robust. It also makes juggling images much easier. So start using it NOW. :)
ENHs and FIXes should still be submitted as changesets though.
Thanks ( in advance ) for your help.
Rob.
regards, Göran
squeak-dev@lists.squeakfoundation.org