Understanding Unified Root

Hi,

The documentation in Visual Studio 2005 regarding the purpose of
"unified root" in Source Safe is weak, in my opinion.

Note to the person who writes this documentation: The people who read
the documentation are most-likely engineers, and you do us no favors
by speaking in the typical babbling, random, empty-worded fashion.
Please, be specific. Tell us why. You words like "flux capacitor" if
you have to. That way, we don't waste hours trying to figure out how
to get the **#(@)#) thing to work the way we want it too.

IN A NUTSHELL, GIVE US WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW SO WE CAN DO WHAT WE NEED
TO DO OURSELVES. WE ARE NOT STUPID.

That said, I am having trouble getting a virgin Source Code server-
side database (repository) to assume a hierarchy that makes sense (in
my mind). Here my situation:

1. In my file system, I have a directory called "Development",
containing one VS 2005 Solution (.sln) file.
2. I created a virgin, empty source safe database, called Foo.
3. I tried to make the database assume a folder hierarchy that is
identical to that on my file system.
4. During the creation of database, VS 2005 asks about "unified root",
etc. in dialog box.
5. When all is finished, the file structure in the database is not
what I expected.

Could someone explain HOW UNIFIED ROOTS work? I am not interested in
vagueries please. I am an engineer myself. I'd like an explanation
as would be given by the person who had dirt on his hand after
deciding that they were necessary.

TIA,

-Le Chaud Lapin-

On Jul 30, 10:36 pm, Le Chaud Lapin <jaibudu... RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,

[snip]
>
> Could someone explain HOW UNIFIED ROOTS work? I am not interested in
> vagueries please. I am an engineer myself. I'd like an explanation
> as would be given by the person who had dirt on his hand after
> deciding that they were necessary.
>
Thought I would mention that, a few hours after this post, I realized
a few of the reasons why Microsoft is doing this. And...ahem...it's
not just one, but several...and they all relate to "what-if" things
that _could_ happen, and to preempt those things from happeing (which
would be bad), the unified root model was created.

Some of these things has to do with project management on the Source
Safe Database side, and some have to do with what Visual Studio needs
to maintain its own sanity while trying to achieve some degree of
parity between it and source control.

Not a very good explanation, I know.

-Le Chaud Lapin-