Svn Collaboration

Best Practices for Managing `BIN` Directories in SVN for Collaborative Development

In a collaborative development environment, effectively managing your project’s BIN directories is a critical component for smooth operation. When working with SVN (Subversion), it can be challenging to maintain consistency, especially in multi-developer contexts like DotNetNuke (DNN) sites. This blog post aims to clarify best practices for checking in BIN directories and managing project-level references efficiently.

The Challenge: Environment Setup

When new developers join a team, one of the most significant hurdles they face is setting up their environment to match the existing team’s infrastructure. Ideally, a new developer should be able to check out the trunk from SVN, restore the DNN database, and have everything function seamlessly. However, the common question arises:

Should project-level references be excluded from check-in?
Is it more practical to add all bin directories?

These questions highlight the need for a defined strategy to manage dependencies and references in a collaborative setting.

Best Practices for Checking `BIN` Directories in SVN

Here are the recommended best practices to effectively manage your BIN directories and references while working in SVN.

1. Use the Global Ignore Path

Ignore BIN and OBJ Folders:
- Set the global ignore path to exclude any bin, obj, or similarly compiled folders from check-in.
- This prevents unnecessary clutter and ensures that only essential files are tracked in your repository.

2. Manage Assemblies Appropriately

Assemblies in GAC:
- Assemblies that are intended for deployment to the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) should remain there. This includes standard assemblies like System.web.dll and any third-party DLLs that you’ll deploy in production.
- New developers will need to install these assemblies on their local machines to ensure compatibility.
Reference Third-Party Assemblies via Relative Paths:
- Structure your project files to reference third-party assemblies through a relative path rather than absolute paths. This practice allows easier portability and reduces hardcoded dependencies.
Example Project Structure:
```
-Project
 --Project.sln
 --References
  ---StructureMap.dll
  ---NUnit.dll
  ---System.Web.Mvc.dll
 --Project.Web
  ---Project.Web.Proj
  ---Project.Web.Proj files
 --Project
  ---Project.Proj
  ---Project.Proj files
```

3. Ensure Consistency

Have your projects reference the required assemblies either from the GAC or from a centralized ‘References’ folder at the project root.
By organizing your assemblies this way, new developers can quickly identify dependencies and set up their environments in line with the rest of the team.

4. Validate the Setup

Before onboarding new developers, ensure that your setup is validated:

Test the Checkout Process: Run through the checkout and setup process yourself to ensure that a new developer can replicate it without issues.
Documentation: Provide documentation on how to set up the development environment, including how to restore the DNN database and any necessary configurations.

Conclusion

Following the outlined best practices will simplify project management and enhance collaboration in your development teams. By maintaining a clean structure for your BIN directories and effectively managing your assembly references, you can ensure that new developers can get up to speed without the usual setup headaches. Prioritizing these practices not only improves individual productivity but also contributes to a more seamless collaborative environment.

With these strategies in place, both you and your team can focus more on developing great features rather than troubleshooting environmental inconsistencies.

Best Practices for Managing BIN Directories in SVN for Collaborative Development