$/Main/
$/Release 1.0.0.0
$/Release 1.1.0.0
$/Release 1.2.0.0
...
etc
Let's say I have a bug fix for version 1.0.0.0. I write the bug fix and check the code directly into $/Release 1.0.0.0. I can label this changeset as version 1.0.0.1 or branch it again or whatever.$/Release 1.0.0.0
$/Release 1.1.0.0
$/Release 1.2.0.0
...
etc
Let's say this particular bug applies to all releases and to my current Main. I can easily merge the change from $/Release 1.0.0.0 back into $/Main. No problem. But what if I want to merge that same change into 1.1.0.0 and 1.2.0.0
As far as I can tell, I first need to merge the change into $/Main and then back out to the various release branches. There is no option to do a merge from one branch directly into another branch. Why is that
Furthermore, what happens if this particular bug fix no longer applies to $/Main What if that component in question no longer exists, for instance How do I then merge that change from $/Release 1.0.0.0 into the various other branches for which it does apply
Merging From Branch to Branch
yamobe
By the way - this is a Great paper! Thanks for the link.
http://www.cmcrossroads.com/bradapp/acme/branching/
ahmedilyas
I am confused on this. Some feature listing posts for TFS say this is post while other posts in these forums suggest that ALL changes from Main would be propagated. If this were the case, it would be difficult to have only one mainline.
monchhib
ITJoeB
The short answer is that TFS doesn't support indirect integrations. They tend to be unsafe -- depending on which files' common ancestors can be found in which branch at which time, automerge may or may not produce faulty file contents -- not to mention very slow. (In my opinion only one product has really gotten this feature right, and it took them a comprehensive multi-year redesign. We might support it in the future, though the need is lower since TFS has 1st-class renames.)
What we do have are baseless merges. tf merge /baseless allows you to merge any two trees by essentially ignoring history. Using /baseless is even more dangerous, but at least you know what you're getting into up front.
Furthermore, what happens if this particular bug fix no longer applies to $/Main What if that component in question no longer exists, for instance
That's one of the dangers of your branching model. It looks like you're using something similar to example S1.2. Overlapping lines (example S3) would solve this, but of course that has its own trade-offs.
You can workaround it using /baseless with the above caveats.
Wazoo