When developers build software, they're able to keep track of all the different versions and all the components they use with software configuration management (SCM) systems. One of the more popular SCM products is Perforce.

Authored by Perforce's own VP of product technology, Practical Perforce is the ideal complement to the existing product manual, focusing less on the 'how" and more on the "why" and "when." The book is not only a helpful introduction to Perforce, it's an enlightening resource for those already familiar with this versatile SCM product. Whether you're a programmer, product manager, or build engineer, you stand to benefit from the many insider tips and ideas presented in this convenient guide.

Practical Perforce is divided into two main parts. Part I offers a whirlwind technical tour, complete with careful descriptions of basic and advanced Perforce commands designed to give you a baseline knowledge. Part II describes the big picture-using Perforce in a collaborative software development. It outlines recommended best practices and quickly shows how to implement them with the Perforce operations introduced in Part I. Throughout the book, you'll learn how to maximize Perforce so it completes tasks like these in the most efficient manner possible:

• Keep track of changes as you conduct concurrent parallel work on files
• Log activity
• Generate reports on who did what when
• Compare, merge and branch files
• Store files and file configurations
• Restore lost bug fixes

Recognizing the pitfalls and practices of an SCM system like Perforce is absolutely essential to producing good software. Now, with Practical Perforce, you have the edge you need to ensure success.

• Preface
• Files in Depot
• Working with Files
• Resolving and Merging Files
• Branching and Integration
• Labels and Automating Activity
• How Software Evolves
• Basic Codeline Management
• Release Codelines
• Development Codelines
• Staging Streams and Web Content
• A: Setting Up a Perforce Test Environment
• B: Perforce Terminology and P4 Commands
• Bibliography
• Glossary
• Index