| OverviewWhen developers build software, they're able to keep track
of all the different versions and all the components they
use with software configuration management (SCM) systems.
One of the more popular SCM products is Perforce.
Authored by Perforce's own VP of product technology,
Practical Perforce is the ideal
complement to the existing product manual, focusing less on
the 'how" and more on the "why" and "when." The book is not
only a helpful introduction to Perforce,
it's an enlightening resource for those already familiar
with this versatile SCM product. Whether you're a
programmer, product manager, or build engineer, you stand to
benefit from the many insider tips and ideas presented in
this convenient guide.
Practical Perforce is divided into two
main parts. Part I offers a whirlwind technical tour,
complete with careful descriptions of basic and advanced
Perforce commands designed to give you a baseline knowledge.
Part II describes the big picture-using Perforce in a
collaborative software development. It outlines recommended
best practices and quickly shows how to implement them with
the Perforce operations introduced in Part I. Throughout
the book, you'll learn how to maximize Perforce so it
completes tasks like these in the most efficient manner
possible:
Keep track of changes as you
conduct concurrent parallel work on files
Log activity
Generate reports on who
did what when
Compare, merge and branch
files
Store files and file
configurations
Restore lost bug
fixes
Recognizing the pitfalls and practices of an SCM system like
Perforce is absolutely essential to producing good software.
Now, with Practical Perforce, you have
the edge you need to ensure success.
Editorial Reviews| Book Description | | When developers build software, they're able to keep track of all the different versions and all the components they use with software configuration management (SCM) systems. One of the more popular SCM products is Perforce. Authored by Perforce's own VP of product technology, Practical Perforce is the ideal complement to the existing product manual, focusing less on the 'how" and more on the "why" and "when." The book is not only a helpful introduction to Perforce, it's an enlightening resource for those already familiar with this versatile SCM product. Whether you're a programmer, product manager, or build engineer, you stand to benefit from the many insider tips and ideas presented in this convenient guide. Practical Perforce is divided into two main parts. Part I offers a whirlwind technical tour, complete with careful descriptions of basic and advanced Perforce commands designed to give you a baseline knowledge. Part II describes the big picture-using Perforce in a collaborative software development. It outlines recommended best practices and quickly shows how to implement them with the Perforce operations introduced in Part I. Throughout the book, you'll learn how to maximize Perforce so it completes tasks like these in the most efficient manner possible: - Keep track of changes as you conduct concurrent parallel work on files
- Log activity
- Generate reports on who did what when
- Compare, merge and branch files
- Store files and file configurations
- Restore lost bug fixes
Recognizing the pitfalls and practices of an SCM system like Perforce is absolutely essential to producing good software. Now, with Practical Perforce, you have the edge you need to ensure success. |
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Reader Reviews From Amazon (Ranked by 'Helpfulness') | Average Customer Rating: |  | based on 17 reviews. |
| A great resource for learning Perforce, 2007-12-12 | | Reviewer rating: |  |
| | I found this book a better resource for learning Perforce over the online documentation. It offers a good variety of source management situations and how to use Perforce in them. |
| | Excellent for explaining concepts as well as reference, 2007-10-30 | | Reviewer rating: |  |
| This book was better than I expected, because it not only explains how to use Perforce, but it covers handling branches in general using the "Tofu model" of softer to firmer codelines. This makes the book worthwhile even if you're not using a different CMS system, just as a way to think about using code branches to manage product releases, new feature development, and bug fixes all at the same time.
One area that was a bit weak is that the majority of the book is geared towards development of shrinkwrap-style software with discrete release points, and only a final short chapter is dedicated to the continuous release style used by web-based products, seeming like an afterthought.
But overall I would highly recommend this book to anyone using Perforce in software development of any kind.
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| | The How of Perforce and the why of SCM, 2007-10-21 | | Reviewer rating: | |
| As the title suggests, this is a how-to guide for doing Software Configuration Management with Perforce, but there's more. In addition to describing how the various commands work, this book helps you understand how to structure your version control system to help your team be more effective. For example, this book describes not only how to create branches, but why, and what policy to have on the branch. The Channeling the Flow of Change chapter is a great introduction to change management concepts in general, and the "Tofu Scale" is a great metaphor for structuring codelines. In addition, the clear writing style makes somewhat tricky concepts very accessible.
Buy this book if you are using Perforce as your SCM solution, or even if you are evaluating multiple solutions, and Perforce is a candidate, as this book will help you understand how to structure your environment for effective development, regardless of your tool. This is an excellent companion to Software Configuration Management Patterns: Effective Teamwork, Practical Integration for Perforce users. |
| | A wolf in sheep's clothing, 2007-09-03 | | Reviewer rating: |  |
| Well, I'm disappointed. I'm new to Perforce and found Perforce's documentation a bit unwieldy so I thought this book would help. I was wrong. What I was *hoping* this book would do was to provide a tutorial on getting set up and started, then serve as a reference on how to do at least some of the common things that you'd frequently need to do. Unfortunately, the book doesn't help with any of that.
The book isn't organized so as to be useful as a reference, and it doesn't really offer much (if any) help on how to get started. Instead the book spends most of its space on discussions on advanced topics (branching, merging, automated builds, and so forth). It also focuses mainly on the command-line interface rather than the GUI.
I'm sure this book is useful for some, but it sure wasn't what I was looking for. |
| | An excellent buy if you are familiar with the basics, 2007-08-19 | | Reviewer rating: | |
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If you have used perforce a little bit but are unsure how to make the best of it or learn more effective ways of using some of the more powerful features I recommend this. If you are completely new to perforce I'd recommend getting familiar with the manual first.
Using simple examples the book explains some of the most powerful features of perforce such as branching. It also has some useful tips on procedures and methods that you can adapt and adopt to make collaboration smoother. All in all an excellent buy if you are familiar with the basics of perforce. |
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Some information above was provided using data from Amazon.com. View at Amazon > |
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