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Novel Use of Perforce for Software Auto-updates and File Transfer

Xavier Galvez Senior Engineer

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DEV  

DEV’S  COMPUTER  

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DEV  

DEV’S  COMPUTER  

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DEV  

DEV’S  COMPUTER  

BUILD  FARM  

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DEV  

DEV’S  COMPUTER  

BUILD  FARM  

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Pre-submit Developer Build (PSDB)

1)  Takes a code change before check-in

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Pre-submit Developer Build (PSDB)

1)  Takes a code change before check-in 2)  Overlays changes on the last-known-good

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Pre-submit Developer Build (PSDB)

1)  Takes a code change before check-in 2)  Overlays changes on the last-known-good 3)  Performs the build

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Pre-submit Developer Build (PSDB)

1)  Takes a code change before check-in 2)  Overlays changes on the last-known-good 3)  Performs the build 4)  Runs tests and generates a report

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DEV  

DEV’S  COMPUTER  

BUILD  FARM  

PSDB  

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DEV  

DEV’S  COMPUTER  

BUILD  FARM  

PSDB  

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DEV  

DEV’S  COMPUTER  

BUILD  FARM  

PSDB  

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DEV  

DEV’S  COMPUTER  

BUILD  FARM  

PSDB  

ACC  BUILD  FARM  

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DEV  

DEV’S  COMPUTER  

BUILD  FARM  

PSDB  

ACC  BUILD  FARM  AUTOMATED  TESTS  

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DEV  

DEV’S  COMPUTER  

BUILD  FARM  

PSDB  

ACC  BUILD  FARM  AUTOMATED  TESTS  

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DEV  

DEV’S  COMPUTER  

BUILD  FARM  

PSDB  

ACC  BUILD  FARM  AUTOMATED  TESTS  

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DEV’S  COMPUTER  

PSDB  

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First Attempt: Two Codebases

§  Perforce vs. SVN

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First Attempt: Two Codebases

§  Perforce vs. SVN §  Windows® file share

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First Attempt: Two Codebases

§  Perforce vs. SVN §  Windows® file share §  Windows: Robocopy

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First Attempt: Two Codebases

§  Perforce vs. SVN §  Windows® file share §  Windows: Robocopy §  Linux: rsync + headaches

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First Attempt: Two Codebases

§  Perforce vs. SVN §  Windows® file share §  Windows: Robocopy §  Linux: rsync + headaches §  No FTP or SCP

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Keep It Super Simple

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Keep It Super Simple

§  Quick, easy installation

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Keep It Super Simple

§  Quick, easy installation §  Minimize number of actions

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Keep It Super Simple

§  Quick, easy installation §  Minimize number of actions §  Clean visual validation

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Keep It Super Simple

§  Quick, easy installation §  Minimize number of actions §  Clean visual validation §  Verbose yet readable log

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Keep It Super Simple

§  Quick, easy installation §  Minimize number of actions §  Clean visual validation §  Verbose yet readable log §  Single codebase

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Using P4 for File Transfers

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Uploading Files

1)  Create new workspace on pre-submit depot

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“Allwrite” is All Right

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Uploading Files

1)  Create new workspace on pre-submit depot 2)  Create pending changelist and populate

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Uploading Files

1)  Create new workspace on pre-submit depot 2)  Create pending changelist and populate 3)  Submit pending changelist and trigger PSDB

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Benefits

§  Single codebase

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Benefits

§  Single codebase §  Write-once/run-on-all OSes

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Benefits

§  Single codebase §  Write-once/run-on-all OSes §  No need for separate database

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Benefits

§  Single codebase §  Write-once/run-on-all OSes §  No need for separate database §  Leverages an existing framework

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Benefits

§  Single codebase §  Write-once/run-on-all OSes §  No need for separate database §  Leverages an existing framework §  Eliminate race conditions

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Shortcomings

§  No un-numbered default pending changelists

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Shortcomings

§  No un-numbered default pending changelists §  Pre-submit depot fills quickly

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Shortcomings

§  No un-numbered default pending changelists §  Pre-submit depot fills quickly §  No pre-submit for virtual integrations

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Shortcomings

§  No un-numbered default pending changelists §  Pre-submit depot fills quickly §  No pre-submit for virtual integrations §  Perforce is overkill for file server

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Shortcomings

§  No un-numbered default pending changelists §  Pre-submit depot fills quickly §  No pre-submit for virtual integrations §  Perforce is overkill for file server §  Local client is needed

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Using P4 for Software Auto-updates

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Why Auto-update?

§  Users get the newest features and fixes

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Why Auto-update?

§  Users get the newest features and fixes §  Deployment is overhead

§  Packaging, announcing, enforcing

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Why Auto-update?

§  Users get the newest features and fixes §  Deployment is overhead

§  Packaging, announcing, enforcing

§  Not all solutions are like web apps

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Why Auto-update?

§  Users get the newest features and fixes §  Deployment is overhead

§  Packaging, announcing, enforcing

§  Not all solutions are like web apps §  Provide seamless experience for the user

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Components Needed For Auto-update

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Components Needed For Auto-update

1)  Centralized version-control system

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Components Needed For Auto-update

1)  Centralized version-control system 2)  The “caller”

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Components Needed For Auto-update

1)  Centralized version-control system 2)  The “caller” 3)  The “client”

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DEV  DEV’S  

COMPUTER  

caller  

client  v1  

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DEV  DEV’S  

COMPUTER  

caller  

client  v1   client  v1  

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DEV  DEV’S  

COMPUTER  

caller  

client  v1   client  v1  

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DEV  DEV’S  

COMPUTER  

client  v2  

AUTHOR  

caller  

client  v1  

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DEV  DEV’S  

COMPUTER  

client  v2  

caller  

client  v1  

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DEV  DEV’S  

COMPUTER  

client  v2  

caller  

client  v2  

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Benefits

§  Leverages an existing Perforce set-up

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Benefits

§  Leverages an existing Perforce set-up §  Latest “client” is always used

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Benefits

§  Leverages an existing Perforce set-up §  Latest “client” is always used §  Tracking

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Benefits

§  Leverages an existing Perforce set-up §  Latest “client” is always used §  Tracking §  Improved quality of service

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Shortcomings

§  Full package is not updated

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Shortcomings

§  Full package is not updated §  Perforce calls are done via shell

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Putting It All Together

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Windows Installer

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Adding to P4V

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Right-click on Pending Changelist

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Right-click on Pending Changelist

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Listing Modified Files

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Listing Modified Files

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Visual Validation

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In Conclusion Novel Use of Perforce for Software Auto-updates and File Transfer in a Multi-OS Environment

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Questions?

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Thank you! xavier.galvez@amd.com