Multi-Platform Code Management
By Kevin Jameson
354 pages, ISBN: 1-56592-059-7, $39.95 (US)

We have just released this guide for any programmer or team struggling with
builds and maintenance.  It shows how to structure a large project and
keep files and builds under control over many releases and platforms.  The
building blocks are simple: common-sense strategies, public-domain tools
that can be obtained on a variety of systems, and special utilities
developed by the author.

On two diskettes provided with the book, Jameson offers a complete system
for managing directories, makefile templates, and source code revisions. 
Both free software and tools developed by the author are included.

The tools and ideas offered here are efficient enough to be used by one
person working on a PC, but powerful enough to support entire teams of
developers.  They've been tested in practice on projects from 50 to
100,000 lines of code.  And complete, documented source code is included,
in case you need to modify or extend the tools.

Topics covered in this book include:

- Multi-platform directory structures for isolating and
  controlling platform dependent code.
- Automatic makefile generating tools to promote uniform,
  portable makefiles on your projects and to save you time.
- File sharing tools that make it easy to share the latest
  versions of files among multiple developers and software
  products, automatically. Since the sharing tools log all
  sharing operations, they can easily help you answer programming
  questions, such as, "Where did this file come from, and which
  programs will be affected if I modify it?"
- RCSDO, a tool that performs version control operations on
  entire trees of files at a time. (RCS v5.5 is included, too.)

The source code provided runs on at least these 15 platforms: AIX, Amiga,
Apollo Domain, Dell PC Unix (SVR4), HP-UX, Irix4, Linux, MS-DOS (Borland),
MS-DOS (Microsoft), OS/2, NetBSD, NeXT, Solaris 1 (SunOS 413), Solaris 2,
and Ultrix.  The RCS v5.5 software has been specially modified for
DOS-Unix network use and is known to run on MS-DOS (Borland), MS-DOS
(Microsoft), and Solaris 1.0 (SunOS 413).  The diskettes also contain
precompiled binaries for MSDOS.

Here is a sample of the tools included on the diskettes:

   - cmi: copy a shared file from its public location to the
     directory where it can be used for builds
   - cmx: copy a shared file from its source directory to a
     public location where other developers can get it
   - makenode: make a directory structure to hold a product's
     source files in the form that the other tools can work with
   - newmakes: generate makefiles throughout a product's
     directory structure
   - rcsdo: do common activities on a group of RCS files in bulk
   - twalker: generate a batch script that can traverse all files
     of a particular type in a directory tree

---------------------------------------------------------------
This and other O'Reilly products are available in the Americas and Japan
through bookstores, or directly from the publisher (credit card orders
800-889-8969; email order@ora.com).

For information: telephone 707-829-0515 (800-998-9938 in US & Canada); FAX
707-829-0104; email nuts@ora.com; or write O'Reilly & Associates, 103A
Morris St., Sebastopol, CA, 95472, USA. GSA # GS-02F-6095A.  Access our
online gopher catalog via "telnet gopher.ora.com" (log in as "gopher" --
no password needed).

Our international distributors:

* EUROPE (except German-speaking countries), MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA
International Thomson Publishing, Berkshire House, 168-173 High Holborn,
London WC1V 7AA, UK.  Telephone 44-71-497-1422; FAX 44-71-497-1426; or
email danni.dolbear@itpuk.co.uk

* GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES.  International Thomson Publishing,
Konigswinterer Strasse 418, 53227 Bonn, Germany. Telephone 49-228-445171;
FAX 49-228-441342; or email 100272.2422@compuserve.com

* ASIA. International Thomson Publishing, 221 Henderson Rd., #05-10
Henderson Building, Singapore 0315. Telephone 65-272-6496; FAX
65-272-6498

* AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.  WoodsLane, Unit 8, 101 Darley Street, Mona
Vale, NSW 2103, Australia. Telephone 61-2-979-5944; FAX 61-2-997-3348; or
email woods@tmx.mhs.oz.au

 ============================================================
 From the  'New Product Information'  Electronic News Service
 on AOL (Keyword = New Products) & Delphi (GO BUSINESS PROD)
 ============================================================
 This information was processed from data provided by the
 above mentioned company. For additional details, contact 
 the company at the address or telephone number indicated.
 OmniPage Pro is now used for converting all printed input! 
 ============================================================
 All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
 BAKER ENTERPRISES,  20 Ferro Dr,  Sewell, NJ  08080  U.S.A.
 Email: RBakerPC (AOL/Delphi), rbakerpc@delphi.com (Internet)
 ============================================================
