Problem:
Once a file is checked in, the lock is released. This becomes problematic with the branch heavy style of Plastic and files that do not merge cleanly.
Problem Example:
1) Joe creates a new branch, modifies a file, commits his change on his branch (releasing the lock on the file), continues working on his branch but does not merge his work into main yet.
2) Beth also creates a new branch to begin work. She modifies the same file Joe did (because it's unlocked now but TECHNICALLY out of date), checks in her work, and merges her branch back into main
3) Joe finishes his work and goes to merge his branch back into main. He now gets a merge conflict because both him and Beth worked on the same file.
Potential Solution:
If a file has been modified but NOT check back into the projects main branch, it's flagged. When someone goes to checkout a flagged file, they'd see a warning that the flagged file has been modified on another branch by X person but not YET checked back into main. They could then choose to check out the file anyway or cancel the request to check out the file. This would at least give users a warning that a file they are going to modify has been modified somewhere else and they could encounter a merge conflict. This becomes a real problem when working with files like Unity Scenes which do not merge cleanly.
Problem:
Once a file is checked in, the lock is released. This becomes problematic with the branch heavy style of Plastic and files that do not merge cleanly.
Problem Example:
1) Joe creates a new branch, modifies a file, commits his change on his branch (releasing the lock on the file), continues working on his branch but does not merge his work into main yet.
2) Beth also creates a new branch to begin work. She modifies the same file Joe did (because it's unlocked now but TECHNICALLY out of date), checks in her work, and merges her branch back into main
3) Joe finishes his work and goes to merge his branch back into main. He now gets a merge conflict because both him and Beth worked on the same file.
Potential Solution:
If a file has been modified but NOT check back into the projects main branch, it's flagged. When someone goes to checkout a flagged file, they'd see a warning that the flagged file has been modified on another branch by X person but not YET checked back into main. They could then choose to check out the file anyway or cancel the request to check out the file. This would at least give users a warning that a file they are going to modify has been modified somewhere else and they could encounter a merge conflict. This becomes a real problem when working with files like Unity Scenes which do not merge cleanly.