Creating a Design Master

[shimon]

I happen to have acess installed on my computer, but I wasn't aware that this was necessary.

[Doug Blake]

TFS stores the XMI only so why bother with replicating EAP files. Allow users to check out the XMI and import them into blank EAP files. Edit file offline. Export to XMI and check back in.

[qwerty]

I guess because some people like to feel the real pain  

q.

[NickBeckley]

Pain is good

But in reality we have multiple projects running in distributed groups with multiple off line users. Each small group is going to manage the merging on it's own small subsection and then the main project masters will be mreged back in to the main repository. Personally I'd rather the EAP files died now but EZ doesn't cope with disconected users and small project groups. The idea of a user clicking synchronise is a lot easier than every users importing their own xml files and handling the merge based on what they think it should be.

I'm wondering if SQL server merge replication would work instead??

[NickBeckley]

Oh and the MS Access thing looks like a red herring. I can create design masters on just one PC, all the others I have tried won't open exclusively. Just got to work out what the difference is.

[qwerty]

The pain does not end here, unfortunately. I can't stop to sermonize merging is not a job for automation. Unlike code a model has much more facets reflected in a change. While a more or less complex change in some code turns out to be some local issue clearly to be described in a few sentences, a model change will likely change the world (of the model). It's not like "ship in what you have and we turn on the cement mixer" and out comes concrete. It's more like a meat chopper and out comes not minced meat but some ugly stuff with guts and bone chops. My advise: seek ways to avoid merging. Seek more ways. Think even harder! If unavoidable: bite the bullet and merge manually.

q.

[stefanieandrew]

Good day! We can all create more design master. Just go and no doubt.