Synchronizing development on different branches

Development of an element with multiple branches can take place in different replicas concurrently, with occasional synchronizations. The more frequently you update, the easier it is to track and reconcile the changes on different branches of elements.

To reconcile changes, you use the HCL VersionVault version-comparison and merge facilities.)

For example, before the Boston site starts using MultiSite, the element cmdsyn.c has two branches, cmdsyn.c@@/main and cmdsyn.c@@/main/v1.0_integration:

When the Boston site starts using MultiSite, the administrator creates a new replica for the San Francisco site. Because integration for Version 1.0 will be done at the San Francisco site, the sanfran_hub replica must master the v1.0_integration branch type. The administrator transfers mastership of the v1.0_integration branch type to the sanfran_hub replica.

Developers in San Francisco can now create versions on existing branches of type v1.0_integration and can create new instances of that branch type. Work continues on the main branch in Boston:

The administrators at the Boston and San Francisco sites decide to merge some of the work on the v1.0_integration branch with the work done on the main branch. The San Francisco administrator sends an update packet to the boston_hub replica, and the Boston administrator imports it:

The Boston administrator then merges from the v1.0_integration branch to the main branch by checking out the latest version on the main branch, merging from the latest version on the v1.0_integration branch, and checking in the result of the merge: