Application Development: Plastic SCM Brings Order to Sprawling Source-Code Projects

Codice Software's Plastic SCM is a software configuration management tool that serves both small teams as well as large teams. As the Cadillac of SCMs, it scales to projects that have 250,000 files or more spanning thousands of directories. However, it is capable of merging the various branches of such large projects in as little as three minutes. Plastic SCM supports different security models, including the user security that's integrated into the operating system. It can function as distributed or centralized, and will work with the database of your choice. There's a heavy emphasis on branching, where each developer works on a separate branch and the features are merged together as needed using sophisticated merge and diff tools to create a fully merged product release. While all these features add up to a powerful product, some teams might find it adds up to a bit of overkill. Others might find there is a substantial learning curve in using this product effectively. All in all, it's a powerful product.