Orwell—a configuration management system for team programming

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Abstract
In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of Orwell, a configuration management tool for multiperson Smalltalk projects. Although the system described has been implemented for Smalltalk, the design is applicable to other languages such as C++, Objective-C or ADA. Smalltalk is well recognized as a productive programming environment for an individual programmer, but its lack of team support is currently a major obstacle in using Smalltalk for a large software project. To support multiperson Smalltalk programming, Orwell provides both source and object code sharing as well as version control on a network of personal workstations. Class ownership is used as the primary means for dividing work among programmers during the lifecycle of a project. Orwell also supports groups of programmers not physically connected to a common file server. We describe our implementation which preserves the productive exploratory environment of Smalltalk. Seamless integration and performance are essential for Orwell to be accepted and used by Smalltalk programmers.

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