System relies on streams, not files, company says AccuRev on Monday will release an upgrade to its SCM (software configuration management) package that the company argues offers a superior alternative to file-based SCM systems.Intended for coordination of enterprise software development projects, Version 3.5 of AccuRev features “integrated change packages,” which coordinate code changes made by multiple developers, said Cliff Utstein, director of product marketing at AccuRev. Also highlighted is integration with the Eclipse and NetBeans open source development environments, enabling AccuRev to be used transparently from within those environments, Utstein said.AccuRev differs from other SCM offerings in that rather than using a file-based approach, the company uses a “stream-based” architecture concept, in which the stream acts as a higher level in the SCM system hierarchy that understands the entire build process. AccuRev graphically represents the hierarchy of the development process, rather than limiting developers to views of files, he said. Beneath the stream would be branches and files, which are the SCM equivalent of chapters and pages in a book, said Utstein. “What AccuRev has done is taken a clean-sheet approach and develop a new high-level object above the branch, above the file called a stream,” Utstein said.“In AccuRev, the developer can visually see where the entire development process is above and below them in the hierarchy,” Utstein said. Developers can check on factors such as changes in an application or bug status.A user of AccuRev, John Morris, director of quality and release engineering at Kronos, said the product enables development projects to be done in parallel, with multiple developers working on the same code base at the same time. Kronos, a maker of workforce management software, uses AccuRev for managing development of applications. “My general take on the product is it’s one of the only products in the market that allows us to do software development” in parallel, Morris said.The change packages feature in Version 3.5 will allow Kronos to integrate source code control with issue-tracking, he said. The Eclipse support also is important because Eclipse is Kronos’ IDE of choice, Morris added.“[Eclipse integration] gives us a seamless view from the developer workstation into his development environment and source [code] base,” Morris said. Other new features in Version 3.5 include: * Include/Exclude, for filtering streams to allow a user to see only files he or she specifically needs. * Trigger improvements, to enable passing of more information using XML as the trigger input file. * Deep Overlap Filter, to see or merge overlaps in intermediate streams. * Multi-Merge, to launch an automatic sequential merge of files. * StreamBrowser GUI, featuring improved usability and aesthetics. AccuRev 3.5 is priced at $1,495 per named user for the Enterprise Edition, which features change packages and unlimited levels of stream depths, and $750 per named user for the Professional Edition, providing two levels of stream depths. Software Development