Git and SCM guidance
This article provides an overview on working with Intent Architect and SCM (Source Control Management) systems (such as Git) including details on which files should or should not be committed and versioned into source code repositories.
Understanding Intent Architect and SCM
Intent Architect is not inherently aware of SCMs, it merely reads and writes files to your file system, allowing users to use their own choice of SCM systems and associated tooling, but Intent Architect is intentionally designed with the use of SCMs in mind.
It is intended that Intent Architect files are committed into SCM repositories alongside normal source code files in the same commits. This enables checking out other versions or branches of a code base using your SCM and having the Intent Architect Designer metadata correlate with the committed source code. The other benefit of this approach is that teams practicing automated CI (Continuous Integration) can run the Software Factory CLI as part of their CI process to provide another quality check.
Another aspect of intentionally designing Intent Architect with SCMs in mind is the format and layout of files. Careful consideration has been applied as to whether Designer metadata is saved in its own file per element or embedded in the file of a parent element. For example, in the Domain Designer each Class is saved as a separate file, with all aspects of it (e.g. Attributes, Operations, Constructors, etc) being saved in the same file. This means that you are unlikely to have merge conflicts with other developers unless you are working on the same Class on the designer. If there is a merge conflict, all files are deliberately stored in a clear text format allowing the conflicts to be resolved using regular merge tools.
Files and Folders to always include
When you create a new Application in Intent Architect and you keep the default layout structure settings, the solution folder will have an intent subfolder housing all the Intent Architect files that are made up of solution and application information as well as their designer metadata.
Should you alter the layout structure when you create a new Application, the files and folders to include to source control are:
| File, Extension or Folder | Description |
|---|---|
.application.config |
Intent Architect Application with basic data such as it's name, icon, etc. |
.application.deviations.xml |
Tracks files which have customizations necessitating additions/changes to default code management instructions, see The Software Factory Customizations screen for more information. |
.application.output.config.xml |
Only created/updated by the Software Factory if it already existed or when it has one or more files it should not generate any reason, for example due to a file being ignored or being once-off generation only. If this file is not committed into source control, then other users and the Software Factory CLI will not be aware of which files should not be generated. |
.application.output.log |
Obsolete. Prior to version 4.5.22 of Intent Architect, was used to track aspects of Software Factory output. For backwards compatibility with older versions of Intent Architect, this file will still be updated by the Software Factory if it already exists, but if it's not present then it will not be created again. Provided that all users working on an Intent Architect application have updated to at least version 4.5.22, this file can be deleted. |
.isln |
Intent Architect Solution file. |
Intent.Metadata folder |
Designer Metadata files. |
intent.repositories.config |
Solution-level asset repository configuration. |
modules.config file |
Tracks which modules and their versions are installed for the application. |
Folders which should always be ignored
.intent folders should always be ignored, they contain data like downloaded/restored modules and data from previous Software Factory output to facilitate functionality such as advanced merging and knowing which files need to be renamed/deleted.
Configuring Git (.gitignore files)
As of version 3.1.8, Intent Architect has an option during creation of a new Solution or Application to add or update the appropriate .gitignore files.
If your application or solution was created in a version of Intent Architect less than 3.1.8, you can manually add the following to your .gitignore file:
# Intent Architect
**/.intent/*