Glossary

AccuRev Server	The program that manages the AccuRev repository and handles commands issued by AccuRev client programs. See also client program.
AccuWork	AccuRev’s optional and tightly-integrated change package and issue management package.
activate	The process of enabling a workflow in AccuRev so that the workflow can be used to automate issue processing and enforce compliance with your SCM policies. You activate a workflow by setting conditions that issues must meet in order to be subject to the workflow.
active	An element is said to be active in a workspace or stream if a new version of the element has been created there, and that version has not been either (1) promoted to the parent stream or (2) purged from the workspace or stream. See also default group, backed, passive. An issue record is said to be active in a workspace or stream if the head version of one or more of its change package entries is in the stream's default group.
add	The operation that places a file, located in a user's workspace tree, under version control.
ancestor	In the version graph of an element, version A is an ancestor of version B if there is a direct line of descent (possibly including merges) from A to B. See predecessor (or direct ancestor). 'A is an ancestor of B' is equivalent to 'B is a descendant of A'.
ancestry	The entire set of versions of an element. See also version graph.
atomic	An important characteristic of AccuRev transactions: the entire transaction (including all specified files) must be performed successfully; if not, the entire transaction is cancelled, as if it were never attempted.
backed	An element has '(backed)' status in a workspace or stream if it is not currently active there. This means that the workspace/stream inherits the version of the element that is currently in the workspace/stream's parent stream (also called the backing stream).
backing chain	The 'path' (sequence of streams) through the depot's stream hierarchy, leading from a particular workspace or stream up to the depot's root stream. See also stream path.
backing stream	(parent stream, basis stream) The stream that is just above a given workspace or stream in a depot's stream hierarchy. The given workspace/stream inherits versions from the backing stream.
base stream	See root stream.
basis stream	See backing stream.
basis time	A date-timestamp setting for a stream, affecting which versions the stream inherits from its parent stream: for each element, the version inherited is the one that was in the parent stream at the basis time. See also snapshot.
basis version	A particular ancestor of the version specified in a Patch, Revert, Diff, or Send to Issue command. The series of versions between the basis version and the specified version constitute the 'recent changes' to be patched into (or removed from) the target. Similarly, a change package entry consists of all the versions between a specified basis version and a specified head version.
change package	A set of entries, each in the form of a basis-version/head-version pair, recorded on the Changes tab of an issue record. The change package records the changes to one or more elements, made to implement the feature or bug fix described in that issue record. Each entry in the change package describes changes to one element: the changes between the basis version and the head version. See also patch.
change package dependency	A relationship between the change package of an issue record (A) and the change packages of one or more other issue records (B,C,D, ...), expressing the fact that promoting A would also cause some or all of the changes in B,C,D, ... to be promoted.
change section	In a text-file merge (or patch) operation, a location where the two contributors being merged differ from each other. The Merge tool highlights and counts the change sections. It also tracks the conflicting changes (conflicts) -- the subset of change sections in which both contributors differ from the closest common ancestor. Conflicts must be resolved by human intervention. See also difference section.
checkpoint	Stopping to save a version of an element, then proceeding to make additional changes to the element.
client program	An AccuRev UI through which users submit commands to be executed by the AccuRev Server (the CLI, GUI, and Web UI are all client programs).
closest common ancestor	(of two versions of an element) The most recent version that is an ancestor of two specified versions. Used in a merge operation to minimize the amount of work required to combine the contents of the two specified versions. See also merge, version graph.
concurrent development	(parallel development) The practice of having two or more users concurrently work on the same project -- modifying the same version-controlled elements. See also serial development.
configuration	A set of element versions — one version of each element. Typically, the set of versions currently in a particular workspace or stream.
conflict	See conflicting change.
conflicting change	The situation in which both contributors to a merge operation differ from the closest common ancestor at the same text line (or set of lines). Also, the situation in which both contributors have pathnames that differ from the closest common ancestor, and from each other.
container file	The ordinary file, located in the file storage area of the AccuRev repository, that contains the permanent copy of a version created in a workspace with the keep command.
content change	A change to the contents of a file element, recorded in a new version created with the Keep command. For a symbolic-link element, a change to the target pathname is a content change. For an element-link element, a change to the target element is not considered a content change to the link. See also namespace change.
contributor	Either of two versions of an element, which are to be combined in a merge operation, producing a new version of the element. This can involve both content changes and names pace changes.
current change	See current difference.
current depot	CLI: the depot associated with the workspace that contains current working directory. GUI: the depot whose data appears in the currently visible tab. The current depot's name is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the window.
current difference	The currently highlighted difference section (Diff tool) or change section (Merge tool).
current version	The version of an element that currently appears in a particular workspace or stream. (It's also possible that a given workspace/stream might not contain any version of a given element.) The current version can be directly active in the workspace/stream; if not, it is inherited from the parent stream. See also passive.
current workspace	The workspace whose data is displayed in the current tab; or the workspace from which the current tab was invoked.
dark matter	The term used to refer to element versions that are not associated with any issue. Also referred to as unaffiliated changes. See Unaffiliated Changes ("Dark Matter").
deep overlap	An overlap that is not in the current workspace or stream, but in the parent stream or another stream higher up in the stream hierarchy.
deep underlap	An underlap that is not in the current workspace or stream, but in the parent stream or another stream higher up in the stream hierarchy.
default group	The set of elements that are currently active in a particular workspace or stream.
default query	An AccuWork query that you've designated to be executed automatically in certain situations: when you open a new Queries tab or Query Browser; when AccuRev prompts you to specify one or more issue records in a Send to Issue command; when you execute Promote and AccuRev/AccuWork integration is enabled.
defunct	A particular kind of change to an element in a workspace or stream: that the element is to be deleted. The element disappears from the workspace or stream. Somewhat counter-intuitively, it also becomes active in the workspace or stream, because defuncting is a change that can be promoted to the parent stream (or can be undone with a purge operation). A defunct operation is originally recorded as a new version of the element in some workspace. Promoting this version up the stream hierarchy causes the element to disappear from the higher-level streams.
dependency	See change package dependency.
depot	The portion of the AccuRev repository that stores the entire history of a particular directory tree. See also element, version.
depot-relative pathname	A pathname that begins with /./ (UNIX) or \.\ (Windows), indicating the path from the top-level directory of a depot to a particular element.
descendant	See ancestor.
diff	An operation that compares the contents of two versions of a text-file element.
difference section	In a text-file-comparison operation, a location where the two files (or two versions of the same file) differ from each other. The Diff tool highlights and counts the difference sections. See also change section.
direct ancestor	See predecessor.
directory	(folder) A file system object that can contain files and other directories. Each version of a directory records a change to its name and/or pathname location in the depot's directory hierarchy.
dynamic stream	A stream whose configuration changes over time, with new versions promoted from child workspaces and/or from other dynamic streams. It also inherits versions from its parent stream.
edit form	(AccuWork) A UI form for displaying and changing the field values of issue records.
EID	See element-ID.
element	A file or directory that is under AccuRev version control. See also version.
element link	An element that is a pointer to another element, which must be in the same depot. The target element can be a directory element, a file element, another element link, or a symbolic link.
element type	The kind of data stored in versions of a file element. Different versions of the same element can have different element types.
element-ID	The unique, immutable integer identifier by which AccuRev tracks the changes to a particular file element or directory element. An element's name or pathname can change, but its element-ID never changes.
exclusive file locking	An AccuRev feature that enforces serial development: when a file becomes active in one workspace, an exclusive file lock prevents the file from becoming active in sibling workspaces.
executable bits	(UNIX only) The data items in a file's access mode that control the ability of users to invoke the file as an executable program.
external	A file or directory located within a workspace but not yet placed under version control has '(external)' status.
File Browser	The GUI tab that shows the contents of a workspace or stream.
file storage area	The portion of a depot in which AccuRev maintains a permanent copy ('storage file') of each newly created file version. See also metadata.
filter	See search.
folder	A file system object that can contain files and other folders. Each version of a folder records a change to its name and/or pathname location in the depot's folder hierarchy. See also directory.
from version	One of the contributor versions in a merge operation. In a typical merge, it is the version in the parent stream that is to be combined with the version in the user's workspace.
gated stream	A stream that uses user-defined rules to control whether changes promoted into it can be promoted out of it. Gated streams cannot be created using the Web UI, but they are displayed in the StreamBrowser. See also staging stream.
gateway area	A directory with a depot's slice, but outside the depot's file storage area, where version container files are staged for offline archiving. The gateway area is also used to restore archived versions' storage files.
head version	The version of an element that, along with a basis version, specifies that element's entry in a change package. Equivalently, the head-version/basis-version pair specifies a patch to that element.
header section	(AccuWork) The section of a multiple-page edit form that always remains visible as you switch from page to page.
hidden stream	Any stream that has been Removed and which by default no longer appears in the StreamBrowser. Hidden streams can be viewed in a grayed-out state by checking the Include hidden streams checkbox.
History Browser	The GUI tab that displays the set of transactions that affect a particular data structure: depot, stream, file, etc.
immutable	The 'permanence' property of an AccuRev transaction: the transaction cannot be deleted or modified in any way.
indicator	See status indicator.
inherit	The facility by which versions in higher-level streams automatically propagate to lower-level streams. If an element is not currently active in a stream or workspace, the stream/workspace inherits the version of the element that appears in its parent stream.
invisible	Describes a data structure that has been deactivated (Remove command), and so does not appear in default GUI displays or CLI listings.
issue database	(AccuWork) A set of issue records, each of which implements a bug report, feature description, etc. Each depot can have its own issue database. Each issue database has its own schema.
issue record	(AccuWork) A data record, consisting of values of data fields, stored in an issue database.
keep	The operation (Keep command) that creates a new version of a file element in a workspace, permanently recording in the AccuRev repository a change to the contents of the file.
kept	Refers to a version that has been created with a keep operation.
lock (dynamic stream)	A control on the ability to perform promote and include/exclude operations involving the stream.
login	Establishing a particular user identity ('username') with the Login command. The username must have been created previously. AccuRev licenses specify a maximum number of currently-active usernames.
master repository	The primary data repository that logs all transaction activity processed by the AccuRev master server. All storage depots are created in the master repository, from which they can later be replicated.
master server	The instance of the AccuRev Server process that handles all transactions that change the status of elements in the master repository. Only the master server can write data to the repository. See replica server.
member	An element has '(member)' status in a workspace or stream if one of its versions is in the default group of that workspace or stream. An element with '(member)' status is said to be active in that workspace or stream; otherwise, it's passive.
merge	An operation that combines the contents of two versions (contributors) of the same element. To merge the contents of text files, AccuRev uses a '3-way merge' algorithm: it compares the two files line-by-line with a third file, the version that is the closest common ancestor of the other two. Merging of namespace changes also takes into account the closest common ancestor.
metadata	Information stored in the AccuRev repository other than the actual contents of file versions. Metadata is stored in the repository database; file contents are stored in the file storage area.
modified	A file element has '(modified)' status in a workspace if the file's contents have changed since the last time the user kept a new version of the file or updated the entire workspace.
namespace change	A change to the pathname of a file or directory element: either renaming the element in place or moving the element to a different location in the depot's directory hierarchy.
non-conflicting change	In a merge operation, a change that occurs in just one contributor (not both of them). Such a change can be merged automatically, without requiring a decision from the user.
overlap	Version X, in a workspace or stream, has '(overlap)' status if the parent stream's current version of the element contains changes that are not reflected in version X. (That is, the parent stream's version is not an ancestor of version X.) Such a version cannot be promoted to the parent stream; the user must create a new version with a merge operation, combining version X with the parent stream's version. The new, merged version can then be promoted. Similarly, an overlap can exist between the versions in two dynamic streams. See also deep overlap.
parallel development	(concurrent development) The practice of having two or more users concurrently work on the same project — modifying the same version-controlled elements. See also serial development.
parent stream	See backing stream.
passive	An element that is not active in a workspace or stream is said to be passive in that workspace or stream. Passive versions can be overwritten by an update operation.
pass-through stream	When a version is nominally promoted to pass-through stream X, the version automatically 'passes through' X: it is actually promoted to X's parent stream.
patch	A set of versions of a text-file element -- typically, containing the 'recent changes' made in one workspace. Also, the merge-like operation that incorporates those changes into another version of the same element. See also merge, basis version, head version, change package, reverse patch.
pending	An element has '(pending)' status in a workspace if the version in the workspace has changes that have not yet been promoted to the parent stream. The set of pending elements includes both kept elements and modified elements.
predecessor	(direct ancestor) The real version from which a given version was derived. A version and its predecessor are not necessarily located in the same workspace stream. In the Version Browser, a version and its predecessor are connected by a black line. (Exception: a version created by the Revert command is connected to its predecessor by a dashed blue line.) In the version graph of an element, version A is an ancestor of version B if there is a direct line of descent (possibly including merges) from A to B.
private query	(AccuWork) A query that appears in the Query List pane only for the user who created it. See also public query.
promote	The operation (Promote command) that transitions a version from being active in one workspace or stream to being active in the parent stream (or some other stream). This operation creates a new virtual version in the parent stream; the virtual version provides an alias for the real version, which was originally created in some user's workspace. See also version.
public query	(AccuWork) A query that appears in the Query List pane for all users. See also private query.
purge	The operation (CLI: purge command; GUI: Revert to Backed command) that discards the changes made to an element in a given workspace or stream.
query	A set of search criteria that selects records from an AccuWork issue database, based on the records' field values. Each AccuWork issue database can have one of its queries designated as the 'default query', to be invoked automatically in certain situations calling for the user to specify one or more issue records.
real version	A version of an element, created in some user's workspace, recording a change to the contents and/or pathname of the element. See also version, virtual version.
recent changes	A set of versions of a particular file element; representing the changes made to accomplish some task (or any set of related changes). The recent changes start with the current version (or another selected version), termed the head version; they extended backward to (but do not include) the corresponding basis version.
reclaim	An operation that deletes archived storage files from a depot's gateway area, to reduce the amount of disk storage required for the depot's slice.
reparent	The operation that changes the parent stream of a particular workspace or stream.
replica repository	A copy of part or all of the contents of the master repository that must be re-synchronized regularly to remain current. New transaction records are written to the master repository only, making resynchronization necessary.
replica server	The instance of the AccuRev Server process that is associated with a replica repository on the same machine. It can directly service client programs' repository-read requests, but forwards repository-write requests to the master server.
repository	The directory tree that stores all software configuration management data managed by AccuRev. This data is maintained by the AccuRev Server, responding to requests made through AccuRev client programs. Users never manipulate the repository directly.
repository database	The portion of the repository that stores data other than the contents of element versions. See also file storage area.
reverse patch	An operation that removes a selected set of changes from the current version of a text-file element. See also patch, change package.
revert	An operation that 'removes' a selected set of changes from a specified version, by creating a new version that does not contain the change.
root stream	(base stream) The top-level stream in a depot's stream hierarchy.
scan threshold	The time at which a workspace's most recent search for modified files was initiated. Such searches are performed by the Update command and by certain File Browser searches. See also update level.
schema	The set of specifications that define the structure of an issue database: data fields and their value types/ranges, edit-form layout, field validations.
SCM	Acronym for software configuration management.
search	An operation that determines all the elements in a workspace or stream that have a particular status.
serial development	The practice of ensuring that multiple users do not work concurrently on the same version-controlled file. See also parallel development.
server	See AccuRev Server.
sibling	Two or more workspaces or streams that have the same parent stream. Pass-through streams 'don't count' -- that is, all workspaces that promote versions to the same stream are considered siblings, even if some of them are direct children of the stream, while others are children of an intervening pass-through stream.
site slice	The subdirectory tree within the AccuRev repository that stores repository-wide database files (as opposed to depot-specific database files). By default, the top-level directory of this subtree is named site_slice. See also repository database.
slice	The subdirectory tree that stores all the data for a particular depot, including the depot's file storage area. By default, the top-level directory of this subtree has the same name as the depot itself.
snapshot	An immutable (frozen, static) stream that captures the configuration of another stream at a particular time. A snapshot cannot be renamed or modified in any way.
stage	In a workflow, an object that represents a phase in a development or release process. For example, your development process might have New, Scheduled, WIP (work-in-progress), and Closed phases, among others.
staging stream	A child of a gated stream that AccuRev creates automatically when you create or reparent a workspace off the gated stream. Staging streams are used to hold changes promoted to the gated stream until the successful completion of any job defined by the trigger associated with the gated stream (like a build or test, for example). You cannot create staging streams explicitly. See also gated stream.
stale	An element has '(stale)' status in a workspace if it is not currently active in the workspace, but a new version of the element has entered the parent stream. An update operation will overwrite the stale version with the parent stream's new version.
static stream	An AccuRev snapshot. The term 'static stream' emphasizes the fact that snapshots are part of a depot's stream hierarchy. See also snapshot.
status	The state of an element, from a version-control perspective, in a particular workspace or stream.
status indicator	A keyword (usually enclosed in parentheses) that reports the AccuRev-level status of a particular element in a particular workspace or stream. Commonly, multiple status indicators apply to an element. See also status.
storage file	See container file.
stranded	An element has '(stranded)' status in a workspace or stream if it's currently active, but there is no pathname to the element. This occurs when the element's directory (or a higher-level directory) is removed from the workspace or stream by the Defunct command or an exclude rule.
stream	The AccuRev data structure that implements a configuration of the elements in a particular depot. The configuration of a dynamic stream changes over time; the configuration of a snapshot (static stream) never changes. Each workspace has its own private workspace stream. See also workspace, stream hierarchy.
stream hierarchy	The tree-structured collection of streams — including snapshots and workspace streams — for a particular depot.
stream lock	See lock (dynamic stream).
stream path	A sequence of streams that starts at the root stream and ends at the stream being referenced.
stream-ID	An integer that uniquely identifies a stream, snapshot, or workspace with its depot. Changing the name of a stream or workspace does not affect its stream-ID.
StreamBrowser	The GUI tab that provides both graphical and tabular view of a depot's stream hierarchy. It has commands for comparing streams, promoting versions between streams, and other stream-based operations.
symbolic link	(symbolic-link element) An element whose contents is a pathname. The pathname can point to AccuRev data (that is, a location inside a workspace) or non-AccuRev data.
target	The file or directory that an element link or symbolic link points to.
target transaction	The most recent transaction at the time of a workspace's most recent update. The Update command attempts to load versions created in transactions up to and including the target transaction.
time-based stream	A stream that has a 'basis time', affecting which versions it inherits from its parent stream. See also basis time, parent stream .
time-spec	A specification of a particular date/time combination, used in various contexts: creating snapshots, viewing portions of the history of an element, etc.
TimeSafe	The aspect of AccuRev's architecture that guarantees the reproducibility of any previous configuration of a stream, a depot, or the entire repository.
to version	One of the contributor versions in a merge operation. In a typical merge, it's the version in a user's workspace that is to be combined with the version in the parent stream.
transaction	A record in the AccuRev repository database that indicates a particular change: promoting of a set of versions, changing the name of a stream, modification to an issue record, etc. Each transaction has an integer transaction number, which is unique within the depot.
transaction history	The set of transactions related to a particular depot, stream, element, or other AccuRev data structure that changes over time.
transaction level	The number of the most recently completed transaction for a particular depot. See also update level.
transaction-level integration	The AccuRev facility that records the transaction number of a promote operation in a user-specified AccuWork issue record. This facility is enabled on a depot-by-depot basis by a trigger.
transition	In a workflow, an object that links one stage in a workflow with another; it represents how an issue may move` from one workflow stage to another.
trigger	The AccuRev facility that enables user-defined procedures (trigger scripts) to be performed automatically before or after certain operations take place.
trigger script	The executable program that implements a user-defined procedure, to be invoked when a trigger fires. Also called a trigger program.
twins	When two or more repository elements have the same pathname in a dynamic stream. Example: (1) an element is defuncted in a workspace, (2) the element is promoted to the backing stream, (3) another element is created at the same pathname in the same workspace or a sibling workspace, (4) the new element is promoted to the backing stream.
UI	See client program.
unaffiliated changes	The term used to refer to element versions that are not associated with any issue. Also referred to as dark matter. See Unaffiliated Changes ("Dark Matter").
undefunct	The operation that undoes the effect of a previous defunct operation, restoring a previously removed element back to a workspace.
underlap	Similar to overlap: for both underlap and overlap, the version in the parent stream is not an ancestor of your version. With an underlap (but not an overlap), your version is an ancestor of the parent stream's version; that is, the parent-stream version already contains all the changes in your version. There can be deep underlaps in the stream hierarchy, just like overlaps.
update	The operation (Update command) that copies new versions of elements into a workspace from its parent stream.
update level	The most recent (highest-numbered) transaction whose changes have been incorporated into a workspace, through an update operation. See also scan threshold, transaction level.
user	A person who uses an AccuRev client program to access (read and/or change) the data in the AccuRev repository. Access is granted only to those who login with a 'username' that was previously registered in the AccuRev repository. See also login.
user/group filter	A subset of AccuRev users or groups, which is used to limit the data displayed in parts of the AccuRev GUI or Web UI.
validation	(AccuWork) A rule, specified on the Validations subtab of the Schema Editor, that controls a particular edit-form field. This can take various forms, including specifying a default value, making a field required, and modifying the list of choices in a multiple-choice listbox.
version	A particular revision of an element, reflecting a content change (files only) or a namespace change (files and directories). All versions are originally created in workspaces, and can subsequently be promoted to dynamic streams. The original (workspace) version is termed a 'real version'. Each promotion to a dynamic stream creates a 'virtual version', which serves as an alias for (pointer to) the original real version.
version control	The discipline of keeping track of the changes made over time to one or more files or directories.
version graph	The directed-graph data structure that shows the ancestry of an element. The nodes are all the versions of an element, and whose lines indicate how later versions were derived from earlier versions. The Version Browser displays the version graph of an element.
version specification	Identifies a particular version of one or more elements. It can be a version-ID; in many contexts, it can be a stream or workspace name/number, which indicates the version currently in that stream/workspace.
version-ID	The unique identifier for a version, consisting of two parts: (1) the name or number of the workspace or stream in which the version was created; (2) an integer. Examples: talon_dvt_mary/14, 245\19.
virtual version	In a dynamic stream, a version of an element, created by the Promote command, which serves as an alias for (reference to) a previously created real version. In a workspace stream, a version created by the Send to Workspace or Anchor command, referring to the real version that the command 'checked out'.
Workflow	AccuRev’s issue processing automation and SCM process and policy enforcement tool.
workflow	A model of an organization’s software development and release processes that consists of individual stages and the transitions that link them.
workspace	A location in which one or more users perform their work, using files under version control. Each workspace consists of a workspace stream (in the repository) and a workspace tree (in the user's disk storage). See also workspace stream, workspace tree.
workspace name	The name by which users refer to a workspace. A workspace name always ends with _<user_name>, indicating the user who owns it. The default workspace naming convention, used by the New Workspace command, is <backing_stream_name>_<user_name>.
workspace stream	The private stream that is part of a workspace. All new versions of elements are originally created in workspaces; AccuRev records element versions in workspace streams when the element is added to the depot, kept, or promoted.
workspace tree	The ordinary directory tree, located in the user's disk storage, in which the user performs development tasks and executes AccuRev commands on files and directories under version control.

Glossary

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