Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!motcsd!hpda!hpcupt1!hpirs!runyan
From: runyan@hpirs.HP.COM (Mark Runyan)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Re^2: Source Code Control
Message-ID: <9630009@hpirs.HP.COM>
Date: 5 Jul 89 16:47:44 GMT
References: <415@coma.UUCP>
Organization: HP GSY/USO/UKL Cupertino, CA, USA
Lines: 28

>/ pcg@aber-cs.UUCP (Piercarlo Grandi) /  7:38 am  Jun 30, 1989 /
>But IMNHO this whole discussion is obviously vitiated by the usual
>unfamiliarity of sw eng types with other fields of compsci. 

The discussion is still valid if a workable solution does not yet exist.
If others in different "fields of compsci" can describe a solution that
can be implemented, I hope they add to the discussion!

>In particular sw
>eng requires a lot of database technology, and database research also
>embodies a lot of sw eng (e.g. data dictionaries, etc...), but I have seen
>very few sw eng people realize that they ought to know about database
>research.

So, what is it we need to know and where can we look?  Since a few of the
people in the discussion use UNIX (or something similar), is there a tool
or tool set which will do what we need?

>Case in point: temporal databases. I always had this feeling that versioning
>has been studied a lot by temporal database researchers, and it does not
>apply just to databases of sw components.

I would be interested in any research on versioning and merging of versions
that might be available.  If you can recommend any, please do.  Perhaps you
should also recommend a few "beginners" texts since I am apparently not
familiar with database research, as I'm only an sw eng type...

Mark Runyan