Visual SourceSafe

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Visual SourceSafe
Basic data

developer Microsoft
Current  version 8.0.50727.1551
(2005)
operating system Microsoft Windows
category Version management
License EULA
German speaking Yes
VS80

Visual SourceSafe ( VSS ) is a no longer developed client / server application from Microsoft for the version management of files, which is mainly used in connection with software source code . It was developed primarily for use on single-user systems or for small teams. It was part of older Visual Studio distributions and is therefore quite common.

It should be noted that Microsoft also uses the abbreviation VSS for the Volume Shadow Copy Service .

Basics

SourceSafe is an exponent of the Lock-Modify-Write version control concept , which means that files must be checked out before they can be changed. The changed files are transferred to the database when you check in. In contrast to pure Lock-Modify-Write representatives, SourceSafe allows the same files to be checked out on different computers at the same time, but the user receives an appropriate warning so that he can decide for himself whether his intended change may be made with the change made by the other developer collided.

SourceSafe versions each file individually, there is no information about which versions of different files belong together. However, so-called “labels” are supported, with which a certain status of a directory tree can be marked (e.g. a version for a product release). As a special feature, VSS supports so-called “shares” in addition to the “branches” (splitting of the development paths of a file): files that are integrated in several directories. If the file is updated in a branch, it changes automatically in all linked branches of the tree.

Team Foundation Server

Microsoft established the Team Foundation Server as the successor to Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, which is no longer maintained by Microsoft. From version 2010 the Team Foundation Server can also be installed on a client operating system. A basic configuration is offered for this, which uses the express version of Microsoft SQL Server for data storage. This type of installation is intended for individual developers who want to use the Team Foundation Server. As of 2018, Microsoft will recommend the cloud-based Azure DevOps Services (formerly Visual Studio Online or later Visual Studio Team Services ).

server

There is no special program or service on the server side ; instead, only normal SMB file sharing is used. This makes the installation of a SourceSafe database very easy and possible without any changes on the server side. At the same time, this is one of the biggest problems of VSS: Since every client accesses the file structure of the server database directly, client-side crashes or problems can lead to the database becoming inconsistent. The range of functions therefore includes tools that can repair a database. In principle, any developer with access to the database can also manipulate the files in the file structure of the server manually. Since the version management database is a central tool for all projects in many development teams , a solid backup concept is therefore required.

It was not until Visual SourceSafe 2005 that an additional server component - the Visual SourceSafe 2005 LAN booster service - was introduced, which is intended to accelerate network communication. However, Visual SourceSafe clients work without this component.

Client

On the client side, the Visual SourceSafe client or one of the SourceSafe integrations available for all Microsoft development environments are available. The client typically needs a direct SMB file share connection to the server, which makes SourceSafe virtually impossible to use on the Internet - which it was never designed to do.

See also

Web links