Version Control Software sourceanywhere vs VSS selection reference

InSource codeManagementIn the system, there are both old and strong people, as well as a rising star. Common sourcesCodeManagement/version control software includes clearcase, VSS, and sourceanywhere. This article mainly comparesSourceanywhereThe functional differences between the series and Microsoft Visual sourcesafe.

Visual sourcesafe

When talking about source code management systems, Microsoft Visual sourcesafe (VSS) is inevitable. It is the biggest tool in the version control/source code management market. Sourcesafe is intended for small development teams or individual users and is not suitable for large, complex projects or geographically dispersed team projects. Sourcesafe has basic version control functions and can be seamlessly integrated with Visual Studio.

Advantages:VSS is suitable for small teams and has basic configuration management functions. The biggest feature of VSS is its ease of deployment and quick start.

Disadvantages:

• Suitable for small development teams or individual users. Not suitable for large and complex projects or geographically dispersed projects.
• It can only be used in windows.
• VSS is easy to use, but its functions and security are weak, which is a hard nut to crack.

Sourceanywhere Series

The sourceanywhere series is developed by Canadian company dynamsoft and has three products: sourceanywhere for VSS, sourceanywhere standalone, and sourceanywhere hosted.

Sourceanywhere standalone is a source code/version control software based on SQL Server. Its interface style is similar to that of VSS and can completely replace VSS. Sourceanywhere for VSS is a plug-in for visual sourcesafe that provides fast remote (VSS Internet) and cross-platform access to the VSS database, making up for the lack of VSS. Similar to sourceanywhere standalone, the server is hosted in dynamsoft.

Advantages:

• Unlike VSS, which is based on a file system, saws adopts the Client/Server structure and stores data on SQL Server, making it difficult to crash the database;
• VSS is designed for local teams, and saws is designed for local and remote teams, with fast remote access;
• Cross-platform is supported;
• VSS is designed for local trusted LAN environments. saws has more complex and advanced security settings and can be used in Internet environments;
• In addition to supporting almost all VSS functions, saws has more functions to adapt to modern development trends, such as pending check-ins window, email notification system, shelve/unshelve.

Disadvantages:

• To log on to the configuration library, you need to reconnect to the server and log on again, which is a little troublesome.
• Sourceanywhere does not refresh the tree structure on the left of the interface.

Visual sourcesafe vs sourceanywhere Functions

"" Indicates support, "-" indicates not support

Function Comparison	Sourceanywhere	VSS + Sourceanywhere for VSS	VSS
Architecture	Client + SERVER + SQL Server database	Client + SERVER + File System Database	File System Database
Cache Server			-
Remote Access	Quick Remote Access		For LAN only
Cross-platform	Windows client and Java client		Applicable only to Windows
Database Backup	SQL Server database backup (automatic)	Archive/zip database (manual)
Database Stability	Stable and powerful	Database corruption often; regular check is required
Database Security	Backed by SQL Server; encrypted database	File System Security
Email Notification		-
Shelve/unshelve pending check-ins		-
Managed version		-
Maintenance		-
User Interface	VSS style-learning curve of VSS users	VSS Style
IDE Integration	Compatible with Vs and eclipsedreamweaver

Summary:

In the comparison of these source code control software, we can clearly see that each product has its own content, attractive places and shortcomings. VSS is easy to use, but its functions and security are weak. It only displays all started projects at startup. Sourceanywhere provides a good balance between functionality, ease of use, security, and stability. It is suitable for large and complex projects and geographically dispersed projects, but sourceanywhere offers a slightly higher price than VSS. Which source code/version control software you choose depends on your environment, budget, and configuration of your development team and project.