Management of software configuration

The management of software configuration is a discipline of the software Génie having the aim of answering the question: somebody obtained a result. How to reproduce it? Generally, it is not a question to reproduce with identical the , but to reproduce with incremental modifications. The question is thus to compare results and to analyze their differences.

The management of software configuration appears like a tool of communication sophisticated between independent actors, contributing to the construction of open systems.

The exact relationship with the concept close to Gestion of configuration is the object of dissensions. One can see with the choice a relation there:

of specialization to a restricted field (that of the software);
of historical sophistication without loss of general information (use of software tools to guarantee results resting hitherto on constraining practices or disciplines);
of pure synonymy (one of the terms being only shorter than the other).

Sometimes one prefers to speak about " Management of Configuration of Logiciel" rather than of management of software configuration . It will be understood that a software is always in a given configuration (model, prototype, delivered, receipt, integration, etc). To manage the whole of these configurations, it is " to manage in configuration" the aforementioned software.

It is necessary not to confuse the GCL with the Méthodologique part (Merise (data-processing), Cycle out of V, Booch, etc) or Organisational (Rational Unified Process, Extreme Programming, etc) of a project, even if these concepts are more and more closely dependant.

The management of configuration is defined by a standard (ISO 10007) adopted by CEN (European Committee for Standardization) and is defined as follows: Activities of technical order and organisational including/understanding identification of the configuration , control of the configuration , the recording of the state of the configuration , the configuration audit .

If the management of configuration makes mention only " produit" we will consider in the continuation of this article the identity between product and software.

Identification of the configuration

Activities intended to determine the components of the product, to choose the articles of configuration, to fix in documents the physical and functional characteristics of an article of configuration, including the later interfaces and evolutions and to allocate characters or identification numbers to the articles of configuration and with their documents.

Control configuration

Activities including/understanding the control of the evolutions of the articles of configurations after formal establishment of their document of configuration.

Recording of the state of the configuration

Action to record and present in a definite form the documents drawn up for the configuration, the state of the requests for evolution and the implementation of the approved evolutions.

Configuration audit

Examination intended to make sure of the conformity of an article of configuration with its documents of configuration

Specificities of the management of configuration of the software

The management of configuration of the software in general particularizes management of configuration primarily by the nature (support) of the elements and articles of configuration to be managed and not by its activities which, they, remain always the same ones (identification, control, recording and to that).

On a side it is easier to modify a file or to deteriorate a software that a plan on paper or a material object. Other it is easier to automate the management of elements of the electronic file type than of the material elements such as a mechanical component (screw, disc, etc) or electronics (diode, transistor, capacity, etc) no matter what easier in this last case.

In the same way it easier to visually check the integrity of a material unit whereas that of a software unit is hardly possible that via markers of control (checksum) whose reliable checking requires and is allowed by the use of a third software.

Finally it is easier to mark or label in an inalterable way an material element that a software file unless the material support of this last is itself of stable material nature (example: CDROM or DVD)

Note:: With the generalization of the use of support data processing specificities of management in configuration of the software naturally tend to be reduced.

Differences between Version & Configuration

The essential difference between a management software of version and a management software in configuration is that this last proposes tools allowing:

to manage the requests for modification of the system to make evolve/move
to put in correspondence the requests for modifications with the changes brought to the system.

Synergy (software), published by Telelogic, was the first to promote the concept of task taken again by PVCS, Perforce the concept of jobs and ClearCase of activities to indicate these requests for modifications. As much CVS, Bitkeeper, SourceSafe and consors is only administrative versions (CVS means “Competitor System Versions”!) while the first are managers of configuration.

At the beginning of the project, the tasks are the specifications of the project, then one will find the requests for corrections or evolutions.

Thanks to this association,

the Entropie of the system remains under control,
the Matrice of conformity is then automatically indicated,
remain-with-to pass it total is known at every moment.

Internal bonds

External bonds

FAQ GCL

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