[cvsnt] Modules and Shared Libraries - tagging strategy?

[Williams, Tim]

Hi folks,

I have a question about how best to use and manage a code library that
is used in multiple projects.
 
Take for example two projects that share a code library. The projects
are PROJ1 and PROJ2, both in the same repository. They share a common
library I'll call PROJ-SHARED that I check out with each project using
ampersand module specification. My modules file would look like:

PROJ-SHARED -d PROJ-SHARED PROJ/PROJ-SHARED/SAS
PROJ1-MAIN -d SAS PROJ/PROJ1/SAS
PROJ2-MAIN -d SAS PROJ/PROJ2/SAS
PROJ1 &PROJ1-MAIN &PROJ-SHARED
PROJ2 &PROJ2-MAIN &PROJ-SHARED

So if I checkout PROJ1 in my sandbox I get:

....\williamstim\PROJ1\SAS\...
....\williamstim\PROJ1\PROJ-SHARED\...

Now let's say I am ready to tag PROJ1 for a Release.  We use a tagging
convention: Release1, Release2, Release3.... for all of our projects.  I
want to tag PROJ1 with the tag "Release1" and I do this by applying the
tag to the \SAS folder my sandbox (*not* to the \PROJ1 folder, because
the files in PROJ-SHARED are used in other projects that may not be
ready for release, or have already gone past Release1.  

If I checkout PROJ1 to a production area using the tag "Release1" I get
all my PROJ1 files, but not any files in the shared library, since I did
not tag it "Release1".  

The only solutions I see at the moment are:
	1.	Change the tagging convention so I tag at the PROJ1
level and tag both the \SAS and \PROJ-SHARED folder in the sandbox,
using a tag that includes the project identifier. For example, Release1
becomes PROJ1_Release1 or similar naming convention. In this way, the
shared library gets tagged appropriately for each project that uses the
shared library.  
This would break naming conventions we already have in place, so I am
hoping for another solution.  Some of our project identifiers and tags
are already long strings, so the resulting tag names become longer and
more prone to user entry error. (E.g :  FOO100XX-FOO01_InterimRelease1
instead of simply: "InterimRelease1")
	2.	Maintain the shared code library as a completely
separate module.  
	This would not allow a strong link to the project moved into
production, since the library may not be tagged with the same tag as the
project (PROJ1). In fact, if we do not change our naming convention, it
would not be tagged at all!? (bad!)

	I would enjoy hearing from anyone who uses shared code libraries
between multiple projects and how they manage them using CVS.

	Thanks in advance,

	Tim  



SAS Systems Administrator
PRA International
Charlottesville VA, USA