>How does SCCTEXT.PRG (stored in the _SCCTEXT sysvar) fit into all of this?
>
>It's purpose is to convert a form or classlib into a text representation and also convert it back. It seems that by using the _SCCTEXT progam, you'd be able to convert a form or classlib to source code (text), then actually store the text representation in the version control system (VCS). That way, you can use a diff tool to easily tell what changed between versions of a file, (since its easy compare two source code files, and very hard to compare to binary files and tell you anything meaningful about the differences), and also easily merge changes together when two developers have to make changes to the same file (when two programmers are working on two different classes in the same classlib)
>
>Does VSS work this way? Or does it just use SCCTEXT to tell if two form/classlib files are the same or not (by comparing the generated text files). You can't rely on the file date/time since it changes everytime the form is recompiled, regardless of when you actually change form/classlib. And recompiles occur if an included header changes, if you select recompile all while building, and other times. How do you deal w/ this problem?
>
>An example to clarify things: When programming in C++, you are working exclusively w/ text files (.CPP,.H., etc. files - your source code) So, I can have multiple users check out and lock the same source file in my version control system. When it comes time to check the source code back in, you can use a tool to compare your modified version w/ the version in the VCS system, it will highlight the changes, and allow you to merge them in. Each other user that's changed it can do the same thing (it's an almost automatic process). The only time it gets hairy is if two users change the same lines of code, then you have to review the changes and tell the merge tool what to do. With a binary file, you can't do anything meaningful in a compare other than say "these files are different" or "these are the same".

Yes, that's basically how that works.

Markus