After you create project components or select existing components, you must identify and
recommend the baseline or baselines that serve as the starting point for the team of developers.
Just as a component represents a collection of elements, a baseline represents a collection of
versions within a component. An ordinary baseline identifies one version of every element visible in
a single component (see the following
figure). Figure 1: Baselines of two components
Baselines named BL1 and BL2 in the integration stream identify
the versions in component A and component B, respectively.
When developers join the project, they populate their work areas with the
versions of directory and file elements represented by the recommended baselines
of the project. Alternatively, developers can join the project at a feature-specific
development stream level, in which case they populate their work areas with
the development stream’s recommended baselines. This practice ensures that
all members of the project team start with the same set of files.
