InformationWeek

January 26, 1998

Version Cont rol In Java

Intersolv product uses Net interface

ntersolv Inc. will introduce an upgrade to its version-control software, PVCS Version Manager, on Feb. 2. But Intersolv is looking to take a big step in software version control by introducing PVCS Version Manager Server, written in Java.

PVCS VM Server incorporates a Java-based Internet interface that gives developers access to PVCS archives from a browser. Because PVCS VM Server is oriented toward use over the Internet and intranets across multiple enterprise environments, the product lets developer teams collaborate on projects regardless of how many developers there are on a team or where they're located, Intersolv says.

"We're offering solution support for the entire enterprise, from mainframe, to WAN, to the Internet," says Susan LaValley, product manager at Intersolv, in Rockville, Md. Because all of an application's source code is stored in a central repository, any developer working on a project can have access to the code from anywhere over the Internet, and not spend time tracking revisions in disparate sources within the enterprise.

"Without a tool of this type, it's virtually impossible to keep track of the changes in an application," says Al Smith, a systems administrator in the change control department at mutual fund manager T. Rowe Price in Baltimore. T. Rowe Price has used PVCS to maintain a record of revisions in source code of over 25,000 components, source files, and stored executables.

Smith deployed Version Manager 5.3 last summer, but development groups only partially used its functionality, mainly as a library, he says. That's why T. Rowe Price is looking favorably at implementing PVCS Version Manager Server, particularly in the company's offices in Los Angeles and Tampa, Fla. "This allows everyone to deal with a single repository and see changes," says Smith. "This is an issue with larger development groups."

Available after Feb. 2, PVCS VM Server will be priced at $3,000 per 10 seats. PVCS Version Manager 6.0 will ship for $649 per client seat.

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