FastTrack 0.9.5

[JiriWalek]

The Polarion development team is proud to announce that FastTrack 0.9.5 has been released and is available to download and update using the Eclipse install/update feature.

Your feedback and bug reports will help us release FastTrack 1.0 as soon as possible so the user community can enjoy all the new features- thanks in advance for your support!

FastTrack 0.9.5 has the following new features (new since v. 0.9.0):

• Subversive 1.0.2 client for Subversion included
  
• Working well with Eclipse 3.2.
  
• Query Builder to produce Work Item queries in a structured query builder dialog.
  
• Manage Work Items table columns (defined in a shortcut, or just for open table)
  
• Basic Project management: you can open the new Project editor (Open > Polarion Project Editor in Tracker Navigator’s context menu in a tracker project). There you can:
  • Manage Categories and Time Points
    
  • Defined basic project properties
  
  
• Improved Work Item editor
  
  
  • Work Item Priority can be edited via a drop down list, same as in the Polarion web UI.
    
  • Enhanced fields for editing Time Spent and Remaining Estimate fields, as in the Polarion web UI.
    
  • Improved interaction for linking Work Items, revisions, and hyperlinks
    
  • New button in the Editor to synchronize the current Work Item
    
  • New History Tab
    
  • Autoassignment feature as in the Polarion web UI
• Improved Commit Dialog
  • Create new Work Items directly from the Commit Office dialog’s Linked Work Items tab
    
  • Open the Work Item editor via the Open action above a Work Item in the linked Work Items tab
• Many other improvements and bug fixes

Important information for updating to FastTrack 0.9.5

To update from FastTrack 0.9.0 to 0.9.5, please be sure to do the following:

• Close all perspectives (Window | Close all perspectives)
  
• Call Help | Software Updates > Search for updates
  
• VERY IMPORTANT: When prompted restart Eclipse, please DON’T. Instead, close the Eclipse workbench and start Eclipse again with the –clean option
  
  Please note that the restart can take a long time when you have thousands of Work Items in your tracker. (Can be 1 hour)
  

Best regards,
Jiri Walek
jiri.walek@polarion.org
Polarion Software

[gesha]

The Polarion development team is proud to announce that FastTrack 0.9.5 ....

nice to know about this!
but after installation i still have no idea how to use it....

-- Eclipse 3.2.xxx
-- preinstalled subclipse v.1.0.3
-- a lot of Java/WAR/EAR/e.t.c. projects in workspace ( already SVN controlled)
--

--- So, after installation a have alredy two SVN providers - one is SUBCLIPSE, another from FastTrack 0.9.5.
What SVN-binding i need to use in my case? ( after disabling sublipse-plugin i am unable to use my SVN-Projects anymore). The "reshare" the project via FasttrackSVN provider also impossible!

--- Has somebody used instead the "PolarionSVN" server some another? What is difference? Is it possible to use corporate SVN instead it?

-- where i can found the manual to using FastTrack? I am understand it is just v. 0.x.x, but may be somebody start this manual alredy? (the
screenshots looks great, but it will be nice to have some short introduction how it's going on.

In my case the "No need to leave the Eclipse IDE! " sounds like :
- "Now I need two Eclipse IDEs, two Subversion-projects, two Subversion- servers"

[zachara]

Hello Gesha,
thank you for your interest in Fast Track. I hope this should help you:

When you have succesfully installed fasttrack into eclipse,
1. goto file->new >Tracker Project
then you can create work items using
2. goto file->new->Work Item.

3. If you want to share your tasks in your team, you need to share so called tracker project into svn repository with SUBVERSIVE NOT with Subclipse.

if you have projects that are not controlled by subversive, you have to simple recheckout them. Otherwise Fast Track cannot contribute and give you enhancemented functionalitiy such as are commit policies.

BTW: Fast Track use standard svn server, so you can reuse your corporate one. For its using you do not need to install anythink only fasttrack plugin into eclipse. Fast Track is designed to be used also with so called Polarion Server or without it as independent client. For more information about a Polarion server, please see www.polarion.com

[JiriWalek]

-- So, after installation a have alredy two SVN providers - one is SUBCLIPSE, another from FastTrack 0.9.5.

For more information how to start using subversive team svn provider have a look here: http://www.polarion.org/index.php?page= ... subversive

-- where i can found the manual to using FastTrack? I am understand it is just v. 0.x.x, but may be somebody start this manual alredy?

Call "Help | Help contents" in your eclipse workbench and you would find there section for Fast Track application.

n my case the "No need to leave the Eclipse IDE! " sounds like :
- "Now I need two Eclipse IDEs, two Subversion-projects, two Subversion- servers"

I am not sure I understand you. Of course you can store your tracker data together with your other artifacts. The FT data are stored in following location (considering standard trunk/tags/branches layout)

YOUR_PROJECT
* .polarion (folder where FT stores all the artifacts)
* trunk (here are the source code resources)
* branches (place for branches of trunk resources)
* tags

So to be able to succesfully use FT you should switch to Subversive (as SVN team provider) create new tracker project and follow Share wizard to store that project to proposed .polarion location in your project.

Beware that FastTrack is heavilly integrated with Subversive: linking workitems on commit, hyperlinks to shared resources, workitem history ...

[JiriWalek]

-- where i can found the manual to using FastTrack? I am understand it is just v. 0.x.x, but may be somebody start this manual alredy?

Call "Help | Help contents" in your eclipse workbench and you would find there section for Fast Track application.

The FastTrack documentation process is currently in progress so the FT documentation in version 0.9.5 would contain some inconsistencies (not updated parts since 0.9.0) and/or some areas lacks the documentation completely.

But you can already find there many usefull informations.

[gesha]

Hi Guys!
Many thanks for your advices...
..they was really helpfull!
The first thing - the spelling SUBCLIPSE and SUBVERSIVE is looks similar and have the same (or similar) functionality. After uninstall SUBCLIPSE and using SUBVERSIVE instead I'm getting the working projects...

-- btw> may be it will be usefull for next-generation users to have the same RED_COLOR_ATTENTION to deinstall SUBCLIPSE before using Fasttrack.


So, thanks again!

The question is right now - how i'll use the Polarix with SVN#1 and Projects with SVN#2. I have already two SVN instances...
...Is it possible? Or it is better to reconfigure my Polarix server to use the same SVN?




And now some additional questions (if last responces was so helpfull, i try to ask something more... ):
- the Fasttrack ant Polarix-server used the same SVN repository. So for me it is to clear how it will works in case, when for ex. two users try to edit the same ITEM. What happens when my working copy is alredy expired and before "commit" i need to invoke "update"? In another words how it working with concurent-modifications? Have the developers the risk to merge own Polarix-data? I still don't try it, just i am interesting before...

- is it possible to have more than one SVN-home for one Polarion instance?

- ist it possible to have more than one ".polarion" DIR in the project? In my case the top-level-project has sub-projects, and the Q. is "need/can I define for any subproject the the same polarion-dependency?".
How it is possible to do it for non-empty project?

- How i can define numbering for my new Items. Now instead of PROJECTNAME_#### (as it generated by Polarion) i have something like PROJECTNAME-MGAJKW for any new ITEM from Eclipse-enviroment. Is it configurable?


So, it is enough for one post...

... to be continue (aka I'll be back )

[JiriWalek]

Hello,

-- btw> may be it will be usefull for next-generation users to have the same RED_COLOR_ATTENTION to deinstall SUBCLIPSE before using Fasttrack.

Sure, we should highlight that more.

The question is right now - how i'll use the Polarix with SVN#1 and Projects with SVN#2. I have already two SVN instances...
...Is it possible? Or it is better to reconfigure my Polarix server to use the same SVN?

I hope you mean Polarion not Polarix. Polarion server is currently able to run with single svn repository only. On the other hand FT is able to work with multiple repiositories. But if you have Polarion Server than you should definitively use just single svn repository. You would gain full control/traceability to your artifacts.

And now some additional questions (if last responces was so helpfull, i try to ask something more... ):

- the Fasttrack ant Polarix-server used the same SVN repository. So for me it is to clear how it will works in case, when for ex. two users try to edit the same ITEM. What happens when my working copy is alredy expired and before "commit" i need to invoke "update"? In another words how it working with concurent-modifications? Have the developers the risk to merge own Polarix-data? I still don't try it, just i am interesting before...

Generally there are two kind of conflicts of svn resources:
* that can be automaticaly merged
* and conflict on the same fragment

If two developers edit the same workitem, than when they call WI synchronization one of them (later commiter) would be asked to fix to conflict, if the conflict is mergable than calling update would simple merge the data. If not there is visual editor to merge the changes.
There is screenshot on FT home page that shows the compare screen.

- is it possible to have more than one SVN-home for one Polarion instance?

Sorry, what do you mean by SVN-home? If you mean repository than no, see above.

- ist it possible to have more than one ".polarion" DIR in the project? In my case the top-level-project has sub-projects, and the Q. is "need/can I define for any subproject the the same polarion-dependency?".
How it is possible to do it for non-empty project?

No, such subprojects are not possible in Polarion or/and FastTrack.
On the other hand even the standard SVN layout

PROJECT
* trunk
* branches
* tags

does not simply allow you to define subprojects.

What do you mean by "How it is possible to do it for non-empty project?"

- How i can define numbering for my new Items. Now instead of PROJECTNAME_#### (as it generated by Polarion) i have something like PROJECTNAME-MGAJKW for any new ITEM from Eclipse-enviroment. Is it configurable?

This is problem, in FT you cannot simply create sequencial workitem ID's, due to the simple fact that you can work offline.

We are still trying to find some nice way how to implement it.

So, it is enough for one post...

... to be continue (aka I'll be back )

Thank you for using FastTrack.

[gesha]

Hello,
I am really sorry fo my sooooooo long delay with answer! But it another hand it means -everithing working fine! A lot of thanks for your advices and your VERY USEFULL PLUGIN!!!

...
.. Polarion server is currently able to run with single svn repository only. On the other hand FT is able to work with multiple repiositories. But if you have Polarion Server than you should definitively use just single svn repository. You would gain full control/traceability to your artifacts.

Ok. Has Polarion some RPC-interface? May be it will be usefull for many things. For ex. on my side I has alredy a lot of SVN-conflicts, just because the same Item was modified alredy, and not by me (( The cross-item-nuimeration then could work perfectly After update it ok again, but only when nobody use the same Item simultaneously So, RPC must be!
BTW the Item-merge feature working perfectly! I had no problem with it.

..
What do you mean by "How it is possible to do it for non-empty project?"

i have alredy projects with sources, configuration, resources, e.t.c....
...how it is better to organize? Just some experience....
Now i deside to use separate SVN project for Polarion, just the commit from Eclipse make the related "comments" at SVN.

..
This is problem, in FT you cannot simply create sequencial workitem ID's, due to the simple fact that you can work offline.

We are still trying to find some nice way how to implement it.

Polarion RPC?

..
Thank you for using FastTrack.

Thanks for FT!

[JiriWalek]

Hi gesha

Ok. Has Polarion some RPC-interface? May be it will be usefull for many things. For ex. on my side I has alredy a lot of SVN-conflicts, just because the same Item was modified alredy, and not by me (( The cross-item-nuimeration then could work perfectly After update it ok again, but only when nobody use the same Item simultaneously So, RPC must be!
BTW the Item-merge feature working perfectly! I had no problem with it.

Actually there is not full remote access to Polarion API. But the most important thing here is that you can work with your tracker offline and than synchronize.

Anyway I understand your tips, and of course people that works online all the time should not bear the troubles off offline minorities.

But there are even different ways how to improve it, even without Polarion RPC (so the non polarion users would be satisfied too). Like implementing the online/offline mode switcher, in online mode the resources are commited to the repository after the operation ends (eg after you click on "save button" in workitem editor). Or in online mode the resources are transparently queried for beeing changed when opened for editing.

..
What do you mean by "How it is possible to do it for non-empty project?"

i have alredy projects with sources, configuration, resources, e.t.c....
...how it is better to organize? Just some experience....
Now i deside to use separate SVN project for Polarion, just the commit from Eclipse make the related "comments" at SVN.

I am not sure now if you have Polarion server running or not, if yes and you want a help how to setup polarion over existing repository please write an email to support@polarion.com and we will process your requests there.

Because you would need to add server configuration .polarion folder to the root repository, tune access file .. On the other hand you got new features to your FastTrack plugin like:

* user accounts (you would be able to work with list of defined users in FT)
* global / user shortcuts
* and of course you would have all the polarion server features.



If not It's very simple I hope. You have probably a folder in svn repo where all the project related data are stored.

The recomendation for the project layout is that you have

PROJECT FOLDER
- trunk
- branches
- tags

and all the stuff is (even as many eclipse projects) stored in trunk folder.

Anyway if you have such PROJECT FOLDER container than create new tracker project and share that: the wizard should help you to store the tracker to the location PROJECT_FOLDER/.polarion

The reason is that eg. polarion server could measery the workitems/revisions tracebility in that case and so on.

..
This is problem, in FT you cannot simply create sequencial workitem ID's, due to the simple fact that you can work offline.

We are still trying to find some nice way how to implement it.

Polarion RPC?

Sure this is one possibility, but remember the offline mode. There are even different ways, like ID's booking (synchronized over svn file), so possibly there may be gaps in id rows but many times it does not matter.

I would personally vote for abstracting the id generaration algortihm so users would be able to choose the most suitable. Eg. use polarion RPC impl when you work online and you have server running.

[gesha]

...
Actually there is not full remote access to Polarion API. But the most important thing here is that you can work with your tracker offline and than synchronize.

sure, i am absolutely forgot about Offline! That is the valueable price to forgot about item-crossnumeration and manual-conflict-resolving.

...
I am not sure now if you have Polarion server running or not, if yes and you want a help how to setup polarion over existing repository please write an email to support@polarion.com and we will process your requests there.

ofcoz i have polarion-server. As for project-layout - i found alredy some approaches in this forum.

...
Because you would need to add server configuration .polarion folder to the root repository, tune access file .. On the other hand you got new features to your FastTrack plugin like:

* user accounts (you would be able to work with list of defined users in FT)
* global / user shortcuts
* and of course you would have all the polarion server features.



If not It's very simple I hope. You have probably a folder in svn repo where all the project related data are stored.

The recomendation for the project layout is that you have

BTW - is it possible to work with Polarion-project without Polarion-Server?!
Ok, you can manage items, but aother stuffs like reports, notifications, administration, builds,....
???

..
PROJECT FOLDER
- trunk
- branches
- tags

and all the stuff is (even as many eclipse projects) stored in trunk folder.

Anyway if you have such PROJECT FOLDER container than create new tracker project and share that: the wizard should help you to store the tracker to the location PROJECT_FOLDER/.polarion

The reason is that eg. polarion server could measery the workitems/revisions tracebility in that case and so on.

this is alredy ok at my side. Just the difference - i still use separate SVN for Polarion-project and Java-project. All of projects is in Eclipse env. So, the full list of advantages i can use. Just the question, need i throw any my sources into the same SVN-project...

..
Sure this is one possibility, but remember the offline mode.
I would personally vote for abstracting the id generaration algortihm so users would be able to choose the most suitable. Eg. use polarion RPC impl when you work online and you have server running.

so, offline mode i use right now not so often, thats why i still dont know a lot about this kind of project management. Just i am a littlebit affraid about big projects with many-many items inside. How fast it could be? Have you experience with this? It is one more reason why i don't want to mix Polarion-SVN with Java-SVN. I just need to switch off FT, when i don't want to use it. For ex. i want to deploy my project into many servers, and in my case i have no dependencies from Polarion. Just getting project, build, deploy - thats it. The Java project still free from unnecessary stuffs....

[JiriWalek]

Hi,

BTW - is it possible to work with Polarion-project without Polarion-Server?!
Ok, you can manage items, but another stuffs like reports, notifications, administration, builds,....
???

You mean running reports, builds, notifications without server just with free tools like FT. No this is not possible actually this is the reason to buy the Polarion Sever .

this is already ok at my side. Just the difference - i still use separate SVN for Polarion-project and Java-project. All of projects is in Eclipse env. So, the full list of advantages i can use. Just the question, need i throw any my sources into the same SVN-project...

We are getting closer ..

There is fundamental difference between Eclipse Project and SVN Project.
The most valuable structure in repository is (imagine FT Project):

Code: Select all

...
  FastTrack
    .polarion
        .project - .polarion is eclipse project and would be checkouted as tracker project
    trunk
         com.polarion.tracker.core
         com.polarion.tracker.ui
         ... and other eclipse projects
    branches
    tags
        0.9.5
            com.polarion.tracker.core


In such layout the space for source resources and polarion resources is strongly devided.

Moreover this is very usefull layout when you start branching, tagging...

And there are very good reasones to use the same repository like:

* workitems/commits tracebility and other resource related metrics
* repository perspective in webui with linkable workitems links from the revision properties view

so, offline mode i use right now not so often, thats why i still dont know a lot about this kind of project management. Just i am a little bit affraid about big projects with many-many items inside. How fast it could be?
Have you experience with this?

We are using FT for projects with 2k of workitems. It needs improvements but anyway it is usable.

It is one more reason why i don't want to mix Polarion-SVN with Java-SVN. I just need to switch off FT, when i don't want to use it. For ex. i want to deploy my project into many servers, and in my case i have no dependencies from Polarion. Just getting project, build, deploy - thats it. The Java project still free from unnecessary stuffs....

As written above to use the same repo and same SVN project folder it does not mean that you must checkout both together.