Link
Link in Firefly is pretty much like the symbolic link in UNIX operating system although the underlying technology is totally different. You can create a Link in Firefly pointing to an object under version control. Such object could be a file, a folder, a branch or a label. A Link could link objects across branches. This provides users with the ability to implement component-based development and a whole new level of flexibility in their development processes, helps users better organize their works and benefits all roles involved.
Firefly keeps a comprehensive and complete history of its controlled assets. Any action done on such assets will be recorded. Aside from the usual recorded history items by legacy version control tools, Firefly also provides true support for Rename, Move, Delete and Undelete. Move and Rename in Firefly is not a delete and create process. The moved/renamed file retains its history instead starts anew.
Since Firefly supports true move and rename, it handles Refactoring in Extreme Programming with ease. For an example, if you decide to perform a refactoring operation in WSAD, Firefly will be automatically called to handle appropriate changes.
Firefly’s local workspace provides a private sandbox for individuals involved in the development process. When you work in a local workspace, you control the versions of code and components you are working on. You will have total control over when and how your environment changes. It also provides safety. A local workspace isolates your work from others. Your work will not be affected by outside changes. In turn, your work will not affect other developers. So if anything goes wrong, you won't be a victim or you won't cost a disaster. You will work in your private sandbox to modify code and run unit tests. In other word, you will have a safe place to do your work, and test them and make sure everything is ok before you put the changes back to the stream.
You can setup a local workspace on your laptop and take all your work on the go. You can checkout files in offline mode and edit or move/rename them, or add new files to source control. All history and changes will be kept in the local workspace and ready to be transferred to the server. When you come back to the office, all change will be uploaded to the server.
Missing/Hi-jacked File Support
Missing and hi-jacked files are identified and listed in Firefly. Missing files can be easily recovered and hi-jacked files can be easily handled when checking in.
Firefly provides automatic e-mail notification to a designated person when bringover or submit occurs on a certain branch. This gives the admin or project manager the ability to be informed of what happened when it happens.
Firefly offers the ability to generate reports to help managers get high level information easily. In the latest version, Firefly has the following built-in reports:
- project report
- branch history report
- branch comparison report
- label configuration report
- ACL setting report
Firefly server could host an unlimited number of repositories as long as hard disk space and operating system does not complain.
Firefly offers a set of powerful commands for you to manage repositories in the server. It includes repository backup and restore without any third party applications. Repository backup can be scheduled or executed manually. The backup process could be mirror or incremental.
Firefly provides you with the option to display a complete list of file that’s been checked out or locked at any given time on any branch. Also showing on the list are the information about which file is checked out or locked by which user(s) and the option to release the lock or checkout
Firefly deploys a server/client, N-tier structure. It does not need any special network system to work thus making the back-end repository transparent to users. This decreases the risk of virus infection and malicious attacks.
Firefly has built-in SSL support in both web UI and client GUI. SSL
stands for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL V3.0), which is a security protocol that provides communications privacy over the Internet.
Authorization in Firefly is double-layered. The first is the branch ACL. Each branch can be set to allow certain user or user group to execute certain or all operations on it. Such operations include bringover, submit, create label, create local workspace and so on.
And file/folder level access control is the other frontier. This level of access control is much like that of NTFS'. You can set ACL for a folder and all sub-directories and files by default will inherits the ACL setting from their parent folder. Also you can set individual files/folders to allow access by certain user/group.
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