$Id: index.html,v 1.3 1997/07/15 00:07:44 ksb Exp $
This source organization is one way to solve the "common source" problem.
Once a product has been ported to multiple platforms there is a strong tendency to maintain the various ports under their separate platform environments. This compounds work relating to bug fixes and enhancement requests. A bug fixed under one platform may require more (or different) code on any other one -- which might be more work than the author of the change is willing to undertake.
One might also argue that multiple source repositories (RCS or SCCS caches for example) get out of sync quickly and are hard to re-synchronize. Surely it would be better for the developer to have a single source control structure for every platform.
This document explains a source organization which enhances a developer's fine control while allowing the gross control to port to (and produce on) many system platforms.
A commitment to following the cultural standards set forth in this document is the only expense required. It is the author's belief that the man-hours spent implementing this (re-)organization of a products source will quickly be recouped by the benefits gained.
Several implementation utilities are available via FTP.