You can use a source code control (SCC) system to share files among multiple developers, improve security and quality, and track changes to shared projects. LabVIEW's SCC tools, accessible by selecting Tools»Source Code Control, provide access to the more common source code control functions from within the LabVIEW development environment.
An SCC system assists in managing projects and facilitates sharing files among multiple developers and multiple projects. An SCC system maintains a centralized master copy of project files. As you make changes, you update this master copy to reflect those changes. This makes it easy for any developer to access the latest version of the project files. Also, it encourages code reuse by making all code easily accessible.
Source code control also helps improve security and quality. When you decide to modify a file, you check out the file, marking it so other developers cannot modify the same file at the same time accidentally. When you complete your changes to the file, you check in the new version of the file to source code control, and it becomes part of the master copy of the project. If a developer checks in incorrect changes, most source code control systems allow you to access previous versions of files to roll back your revisions.
The SCC system helps track changes to the project. When a developer checks in a file, the system prompts the user to describe the changes. The SCC system maintains this information so you clearly document the evolution of the project. In addition to maintaining the source code, the SCC system can manage all aspects of the project, including specifications and illustrations and tracking the changes made to those documents. This ability to track the evolution of software is important to most organizations that are concerned with quality.
LabVIEW provides basic source code control functionality in its built-in system. In addition, LabVIEW supports two third-party source code control systems, Perforce and Microsoft Visual SourceSafe. You can select which SCC system to use through the Configure SCC Options dialog box, available by selecting Tools»Source Code Control»Configure SCC Options. Refer to Selecting the Source Code Control System for more information about the available systems.