Practical Software Configuration Management: The Latenight Developer's Handbook (Bk/Cd-ROM) [Deluxe Edition] [Paperback]

Suzanne Pherigo (Author), Tim Mikkelsen (Director), Tim Mikkelsen (Author), Suzanne Pherigo (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hewlett-Packard Professional Books | Publication Date: June 3, 1997

This book provides a quick, easy-to-read introduction to the advanced concept of configuration management. As software developers create new applications, they must map each step for later reference and quality checks -- like leaving behind a trail of bread crumbs. Written for individuals or small development teams who do not have vast resources and budgets, Mikkelson/Pherigo is a complete package of everything you need to create professional software.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

With this book, individual developers and small development teams can gain the benefits of configuration management that were previously restricted to large organizations with large budgets.This pragmatic, easy-to-read guide to configuration management comes with all the freeware PC developers need to get started. Developers will learn the basic concepts of configuration management -- ways to keep track of source code files, graphical images, help files and other elements associated with software development. They will also learn how to customize basic configuration management techniques to their own working environments. The book focuses on the PC platform, discussing free and inexpensive tools and technologies, rather than the expensive, complex configuration management systems that have been developed for large teams.All PC software developers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (June 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132408546
• ISBN-13: 978-0132408547
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,894,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book...exactly what it's subtitle states, January 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Practical Software Configuration Management: The Latenight Developer's Handbook (Bk/Cd-ROM) (Paperback)

I object to the unnecessarily harsh review being given to these authors for their excellent work.

Read the subtitle: "The Latenight Developer's Handbook"

In case you missed it, the authors state it again, on page xvi:

"The book does not discuss theoretical aspects of configuragtion management because we think that inaccessibility has been on of the barriers for broader use of configuration management."

Precisely.

Years of experience? Combined, the authors have over 38 years of practice and MANAGEMENT experience.

And I object to the presumption that it should be used only by small-project teams. This book is listed by the W3C for use by their developers, which is one of the largest collaboration efforts in history.

If you're looking for a textbook with which to teach a class, you may still want to consider whether you want to present "Big Science" configuration management to your students right away. Don't you have an obligation to prepare them with the survival skills they need in industry, before moving on to other topics you personally find more interesting?

These authors deserve better, with their multi-decade experience in bringing software products through the release cycle to the general marketplace, which are even now in day-to-day use by many organizations both large and small.

Put a cover on this book; you're going to wear it out referring to it with your colleagues.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good handbook for the single developer, March 23, 2002

By 

Fernando Rodriguez (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Practical Software Configuration Management: The Latenight Developer's Handbook (Bk/Cd-ROM) (Paperback)

If you are thinking of buying this book, you're probably concerned with some of those the extremely negative reviews it has. I was concerned too, but something made me feel that I shouldn't take those reviews too seriously, so I ordered it. I'm glad I did so.

This is a simple, straight to the point book aimed at the single developer (or small team), without any kind of theoretical discussions, just some basic explanations and simple rules of thumb.

IMHO, the authors of those harsh reviews are SCM managers that were looking for more complex and advanced books.

If you are a developer, you probably consider SCM as tool to make your programming life easier (and not a science or way of life) and you will probably consider this book a good introduction.

If you are looking for some convoluted theoretical mental masturbations on SCM, you should certainly skip it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good resource for the small development team., September 22, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Practical Software Configuration Management: The Latenight Developer's Handbook (Bk/Cd-ROM) (Paperback)

This book is targetted to the small development group, either the lone individual developer or the small team. The CD in the back provides RCS, a configuration management software tool. The book is written around using RCS, with specific command lines and examples. If you are already familiar with SCM, do not have an established tool environment, and are working in a small group, I would think this book would be an excellent source. But if you want theory, policy and procedure, or are working in an environment different than the 3 conditions given above, this book is light.

One sidebar comment: This book is not just for software developers. Anyone who is working on a PC to produce products that need to be version controlled would greatly benefit from this book. In particular, professional writers who may be totally unfamiliar with SCM concepts but reconginize the problems they have with versioning would be well served by this book. The authors provide everything a non-systems professional would need to create a modern change control environment on their workstation. Of course, the Unix-like commands may be too much for such a user.