Extension to the SCC API – PB Docs 2017

Status determination by version
number

PowerBuilder provides third-party SCC providers with an
extension to the SCC API that allows them to enhance the integration
of their products with PowerBuilder. Typically, calls to the SccDiff
method are required to determine if an object is out of sync with the
SCC repository. (This is not appropriate for Perforce or
ClearCase.)

However, SCC providers can implement SccQueryInfoEx as a primary
file comparison method instead of SccDiff. The SccQueryInfoEx method
returns the most recent version number for each object requested. This
allows PowerBuilder to compare the version number associated with the
object in the PBL with the version number of the tip revision in the
SCC repository in order to determine whether an object is in
sync.

Since SccQueryInfoEx is a much simpler request than SccDiff, the
performance of the PowerBuilder IDE improves noticeably when this
feature is implemented by the SCC provider. For these providers, the
SccDiff call is used as a backup strategy only when a version number
is not returned on an object in the repository. Also for these
providers, the version number for registered files can be displayed in
the Library painter.

For more information on viewing the version number, see Controlling columns that display in the List
view.

Once the new API method is implemented in an SCC provider DLL
and exported, PowerBuilder automatically begins to use the
SCCQueryInfoEx call with that provider. The SccQueryInfoEx method is
currently used by PBNative.

Overriding the version
number

For source control systems that support the SccQueryInfoEx
method, you can manually override the version number of local files,
but only for PowerScript objects, and only when you are connected to
source control.

This can be useful with source control systems that allow you to
check out a version of an object that is not the tip revision.
However, the source control system alone decides the version number of
the tip revision when you check a file back into source control. It is
the version returned by the source control system that gets added to
the PBC file for the workspace and to the PBLs in the local
directory.

For more information about the PBC file, see Working in offline mode.

You change the local version number for a source-controlled
PowerScript object in its Properties dialog box, which you access from
the object’s pop-up menu in the System Tree or the Library painter. If
the source control system for the workspace supports the
SccQueryInfoEx method and you are connected to source control, the
Properties dialog box for a source-controlled PowerScript object
(other than a PBT) has an editable SCC Version text box. The SCC
Version text box is grayed if the source control system does not
support the SccQueryInfoEx method or if you are not connected to
source control.