It’s here! AccuRev today announced Kando, the seamless integration of Git with the AccuRev server. Everyone at AccuRev is incredibly excited about it.

As many people know (and as we discussed here last week), Git is increasing in popularity among developers working in small groups or collaborating on open source projects. It’s also fast, flexible, and full of developer-friendly features. But when it comes to using Git in an enterprise, the size and complexity of these environments can make it difficult to secure and manage the software development process.

What makes Kando different from other Git integrations?

Take a look at the diagram below. With Kando, Git developers push and pull from real Git repositories. Kando takes all changes pushed to these repositories and replicates them on the AccuRev server. Furthermore, any changes made in AccuRev streams that are mapped to Git repositories are replicated in their respective repositories. This means Git users can just do a pull to get those changes, which allows Git users to continue using Git as usual without interacting with AccuRev, if they choose not to.

 How does Kando benefit Git development environments? 

Kando enables the flexibility of Git and the security of AccuRev by providing:

• Support for enterprise authentication via LDAP and Microsoft Active Directory
• Fully integrated issue tracking system and Software Change and Configuration Management (SCCM) through change-based development with AccuRev Change Packages
• User and group-based access control security measures
• Visualization of development processes using Git through the AccuRev StreamBrowser
• Seamless integration of Git into an AccuRev environment

Take a look at how it works:

To read more about Kando, watch the demo video, and learn about beta availability, check out the Kando page here!

If you scratch any software configuration management (SCM) system hard enough, what you’ll really find is a source control system. In reality, SCM and source control are basically one and the same. Having truly effective SCM is all about having good source control.

The challenge today for any software developer is the rapid pace and simultaneous development that has dramatically changed the development landscape over the past few years. Throw in the latest Agile development processes, mix in some more traditional methodologies, including XP and waterfall, and now you’ve got a real witches’ brew of development activity that can put a strain on source control.

One of the reasons we’ve developed AccuRev SCM is to provide a sound source control system. Something that enables distributed teams to communicate, collaborate, and integrate code as seamlessly and effortlessly as possible while providing full transparency to all source file changes.

So what exactly are the benefits of a source control system? Here are some main ones:

• Source control enables multiple development teams to access and share code simultaneously, enabling effective parallel development
• It enables code to be managed and protected to help ensure file integrity
• It provides a way to label, or version, a chunk of code — even whole sets of code — so that a complete file history can be maintained for faster, more effective development and revision
• It helps with change management so that new software versions or added functionality can be tracked and approved

As a source control system, AccuRev SCM really helps developers by providing process visualization, drag-and-drop SCM automation and issue-based workflow using something we call “streams” – a type of architecture that’s a sort of “intelligent” branching. This type of architecture provides outstanding source control because each stream contains every file for a specific source code configuration. This, in turn, makes branching and merging easier, even in a distributed, parallel development environment. This streamlined architecture enables teams to store their work and test it before sharing it so that merging code becomes a lot easier and safer.

With a good source control system, you’re able to accomplish some pretty amazing stuff. We’ve found that AccuRev SCM can:

• Improve Agile/hybrid process project collaboration
• Improve software asset reuse
• Accelerate time to market
• Lower total cost of ownership
• Accelerate the software development process by 30%

Efficient, optimized software development starts with solid SCM, and that means a good source control system.

As an AccuRev blog reader, you’re welcome to attend our upcoming free webinar that will discuss the intersection of Agile development and governance:

Attend this Webinar and learn:

How Agile processes and compliance can coexist in harmony

What pragmatic ALM is and how it can help you solve today’s business challenges

How to manage multiple processes dependent on project requirements (Waterfall, Agile, etc.)

Best practices for optimizing tools and processes for both software development and release management.

When: Thursday, December 4 at 1:00 PM EST

Register: The Business Case for Pragmatic ALM: Agility with Governance

James from AccuRev: You want answers?

Tom the CC User: I think I’m entitled to them.

James from AccuRev: You want answers?!

Tom the CC User: I want the truth.

James from AccuRev: You can’t handle the truth! Tom, we live in a world that has complex software. And that software is going to be coded by men with computers. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Tom with your CC? We at AccuRev have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for CVS and you curse SVN. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what we know: That the AccuRev SCM tool, while special and unique, probably saved jobs. And AccuRev’s existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves jobs. You don’t want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don’t talk about at tradeshows, you want us for your source code. You need us for your source code. AccuRev uses words like Keep, Promote, Update…we use these words as the backbone to a life spent managing source code. You use ‘em as a punchline. We have neither the time nor the inclination to explain ourselves to a man who drinks coffee and programs under the blanket of the code management we provide, then questions the manner in which we provide it. We’d prefer you just send us a P.O. and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up an IDE and start programming. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you’re entitled to.

James from AccuRev: Did you order something besides AccuRev?

Tom the CC User: I did the job that the IBM bigot made me do.

James from AccuRev: Did you order the CC?

Tom the CC User: You’re damn right I did!!!

James from AccuRev: All you did was weaken a company today, Tom. That’s all you did. You put software projects in danger. Sweet dreams, son.