Comparison between CM+ and Darcs

Back to main page

SCM feature:	CM+	Darcs	Add to comparison: +CVS +AccuRev +Aegis +AllChange +Arch +Bazaar +BitKeeper +ClearCase +CMSynergy +Co-Op +Git +LibreSource Synchronizer +Mercurial +Monotone +OpenCM +Perforce +PureCM +SourceAnywhere +Subversion +Superversion +Surround SCM +svk +Team Foundation Server +Vesta +Visual SourceSafe
Atomic Commits	Yes. Commits are atomic.
Files and Directories Moves or Renames	Yes. Both moves and renames are supported, while maintaining history.	Yes. Renames are supported.
Intelligent Merging after Moves or Renames	Yes. Renames are Intelligent.	Unknown.
File and Directories Copies	Yes. An inexpensive operation that can be used for sharing files in multiple places. On deploy, you have the option of deploying only one of the shared files or all of them.	No. Copies of files and directory structures are not supported.
Remote Repository Replication	Yes. CM+MultiSite can be configured to clone a repository so that it continues to act as a single repository. Options include cloning only from the main site (i.e. not allowing updates from the clone) and restricting the set of files transferred to a cloned site.	Yes.
Propagating Changes to Parent Repositories	Yes. In CM+MultiSite, changes made at the slave are, by default, propagated to the Main(master) library, as well as to all other Clones (slaves). You may also propagate changes between unrelated repositories containing some of the same source.	Yes.
Repository Permissions	Yes. Permissions are defined by data, primarily, not by location. If location is a part of the data, it may be used to define permissions by location. Permissions may apply to a branch, file, problem report, test case, etc. Access may be extended based on peer group, manager, and access lists.	No.
Changesets' Support	Yes. Change packages are known as updates. By default, an update is required to make any change. The update may be checked-in, differenced, promoted, retrieved, propagated, yanked (i.e. removed from history), etc. each in a single operation. Baseline alignment is performed based on the status (i.e. promotion level) of the update. Updates also record changes to directory structure: move, add, remove.	Yes. Changesets are supported.
Tracking Line-wise File History	Yes. View revision tags.	Yes. (darcs annotate)
Ability to Work only on One Directory of the Repository	Yes. Any arbitrary set can be checked out and worked on. Similarly, arbitrary restrictions may be applied for check-in, including file ownership.	It is possible to commit only a certain directory. However, one must check out the entire repository as a whole.
Tracking Uncommited Changes	Yes. Use Updates | Delta | Delta Update. Or right click a file or directory and do a compare to workspace.	Yes, using "darcs whatsnew".
Per-File Commit Messages	Yes. Out of the box CM+ is configured to prompt for messages (i.e. comments) only per change. However, the schema is pre-configured so that you may prompt on a per file basis as well (typically done at checkout time as the entire change is normally checked in with a single operation.	No.
Documentation	Very good. There is a self-demo/tutorial to get you started quickly. Administration is minimal. So normal developer use requires only a 1 to 2 hour training session (or equivalent guide) to introduce you to concepts and capabilities (e.g. like updates, options). Customization documentation is also extensive but should normally be accompanied by a 2-day to 4-day course for GUI, Process, Data and Application set customization.	Good. The manual contains a brief tutorial and a solid reference. Every sub-command can print its usage. Because the command-set is small and the model is simple, many users find it easy to get started.
Ease of Deployment	Yes. Typical installation need only be done on the server (with a single shortcut established on the client). This assumes file system connectivity. For IP only connectivity, installation is also required on remote clients. Installation is typically a couple of minutes. No dependencies unless web interface is used, in which case an Apache server is required. A download is available from Neuma's web site and takes you right into a self-guided fully working demo version.	Very good. darcs requires few external libraries, however you need the Glasgow Haskell Compiler if you cannot find a binary. To start working, just "darcs init".
Command Set	CM+ has several dozen commands that can be used both for operation and configuration of the product. As CM+ is change-based, commands are substantially different than CVS. The GUI is used primarily and implemented on top of the command set. As well, CM+ covers a full ALM suite and can be extended beyond, so there are many more generic commands for browsing, reporting, etc.	The command set is fairly compact and the core commands are easy to understand. Follows CVS in a few places, but since the model is different most commands are unique.
Networking Support	Very good. File system connectivity, TCP/IP connectivity and Web connectivity may be intermixed. MultiSite connectivity is over TCP/IP, as is License server. Works well with SSH, NFS, SMB, etc.	Good. Darcs supports getting patches over HTTP, and getting and sending patches over SSH and email.
Portability	Good. Clients and Servers work on Unix, Linux, and Windows. MAC OS X port pending. Moving server from one platform to another is a copy operation only. Can have different platforms for different servers in a MultiSite configuration. Easily configurable Web client also supported. No CR/LF issues. Scripts are all portable as well.	Very good. Supports many UNIXes, Mac OS X, and Windows, and is written in a portable language.
Web Interface	Yes. Can be configured to restrict which operations are allowed by which users, so that customers may access their requests without seeing development team data.	darcs.cgi is included in the distribution.
Availability of Graphical User-Interfaces.	Excellent. Windows and Unix/Linux GUI as well as web GUI. Extensively configurable via simple menu files, browser files, etc. Can customize the set of to-do lists by user/role, same for menus, pop-up menus, default visible tabbed reports, etc. GUI also used for all admin and for process and data schema customization. Also plug-in for Visual Studio, Eclipse, etc. and File Browser (Windows).	None to speak of. (There is a modest graphical interface to a few commands in the distribution, but it is not being developed currently.)