Use pull requests

This section provides information about pull requests, a special type of review that you use to evaluate and merge a set of defined changes, typically in a branch or Dimensions CM topic stream.

Pull request overview

Pull requests are a collaborative process that enables a team to:

  • Review the proposed code changes.
  • Add review comments and contribute to a discussion.
  • Protect your mainline stream/branch from unwanted changes, bad merges, and broken builds.
  • Approve changes and merge them into a mainline.

Pull request behavior:

  • Pull requests are related to two streams or branches: the source stream/branch, where the pull request changes are made and reviewed, typically a topic stream; and the target stream/branch, where the pull request changes are merged to, typically a mainline.
  • Pull requests can be related to a request, which is used to merge the changes in the pull request.
  • Pull requests enable you to merge changes into a target stream or branch without using a work area. For details, see Merge changes in pull requests.
  • Pull requests can run chains to help you decide if the changes in a stream are healthy. For details, see Run chains on pull requests.

As an administrator, you can instruct PulseUno to create a pull request automatically when a branch or topic stream are created. The new pull request is automatically linked to the branch or topic stream. For details, see Configure how pull requests are created.

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Pull requests and Dimensions CM topic streams

Topic streams are temporary Dimensions CM streams that you use for a set of defined changes, for example, to fix a defect or develop a small feature.

Note: This functionality is available only if PulseUno is used with Dimensions CM.

Topic streams enable you to isolate changes from a mainline stream. Topic streams have some limitations compared to normal streams, but the main advantage is they are very quick to create.

A topic stream and its related pull request work together to help you review and merge changes:

  • A topic stream is created from a parent stream, which creates a pull request. You can create topic streams in the Dimensions CM clients.
  • Changes are delivered to the topic stream and related to the pull request.
  • The pull request is reviewed, approved, and merged into the topic stream’s parent stream.

Considerations and behaviors:

  • Reviewers use the pull request to review the changes in the topic stream.
  • The pull request contains the changes in the related topic stream.
  • The request related to the pull request is used to merge the changes in the topic stream into its parent stream.

For details about topic streams, see the Dimensions CM help.

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See also: