[LLVMdev] Version Control Upgrade?

[Jeff Cohen]

I have used Perforce also and fully agree it's wonderful.  The only 
concern I have is with their license for open source projects.  The only 
gotcha is that it must be renewed annually, and they reserve the right 
to not renew it (though they say they won't unreasonably deny 
renewals).  Not sure how much this really matters, as Perforce strikes 
me as being one of those "do no evil" companies.

Duraid Madina wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> Reid said:
>
>> Of the tools available, it seems that only subversion, arch, and 
>> monotone are suitable for our purposes. But, we'd love to hear your 
>> thoughts; especially if you have first-hand experience with these tools.
>
>
> Apart from using CVS as a client (as everyone does), I've only ever 
> used Aegis (previous employer, for ~3 years) and Perforce (the 
> employer before that, though ever since then I've been using the 
> 'free' license for personal stuff.) I've tinkered a bit with some of 
> the shiny new V-C systems.
>
> Well, to put things bluntly, Aegis was a complete and total disaster, 
> while Perforce is the best version control system I've ever used.
>
> Why? Ease of use! Something that isn't mentioned in the version 
> control system comparison Reid mentions. For good reason, no doubt - 
> it is to _some_ extent a subjective thing. However, Perforce has 
> always been an absolute joy to use (I can't stress this enough!!) 
> while Aegis always struck me as more or less designed to _inhibit_ 
> development! (It really does live up to its name on this point, trust 
> me.) The differences can't _all_ be in my head, I hope!
>
> OK, I should at least _try_ to be objective. In contrast to the other 
> VCSs I've used:
>
>     - Perforce _just works_. By this I mean that it only ever takes 
> effort to make it work _differently_, not to make it work _at all_. I 
> don't want to start a flamewar and so won't mention other VCSs that 
> could be contrasted here, but the differences are certainly there. 
> Getting up and running
>
>     - Perforce is _very_ well documented.
>
>     - Perforce is _very_ well supported: should anyone ever need help, 
> Perforce support is incredibly helpful, polite and _eerily_ rapid to 
> respond. At this point I should mention that the VCS comparison says 
> that no support is available for people using Perforce with a free 
> open-source license. This is indeed "the letter of the law", but the 
> reality is that Perforce support tries to help everyone on a 
> best-effort basis. Indeed, the support is so good (I'd never 
> experienced anything like it, and haven't since) that I'm quite sure 
> the guys who write the software are the same guys who answer the 
> emails. It's like LLVM support in that regard. :)
>
>     - Perforce is basically idiot-proof. By this I mean that you 
> really need to know what you're doing to lose/mess up 
> data/configuration. Perforce is the closest thing out there to a VCS 
> with an "undo button", as far as I'm aware.
>
>     - Perforce is basically bug-free. For every genuine bug an LLVMer 
> finds in Perforce, I will send him or her a box of chocolates and a 
> handwritten apology. :)
>
>
> It's difficult for me to make a strong case that LLVM should switch to 
> Perforce because I haven't had any problems with the _current_ system, 
> but if we are to switch, I'd recommend Perforce highly. It does 
> everything people ever seem to ask of a VCS, and it's quick, easy and 
> fun to use. Really!
>
> If you has half an hour to burn, visit http://perforce.com , download 
> the software and have a play. You get "the real thing", the only 
> difference is that without a license file, you can't create more than 
> two accounts or workspaces.
>
> Perforce is not the fanciest thing out there, but it's simple and it 
> works well.
>
>     My two yen,
>
>     Duraid
>
> P.S. Perhaps a minor point in this era of 400GB hard disks and 2GHz 
> CPUs, but worth mentioning: Perforce is _FAST_.
>
>
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