Pulse Code Review

Pulse Code Review can be used on in-view and cross-view (promote, rebase and replicate) change packages.

Before you start using this feature, it is important to configure Pulse the Server Administration Tool. For details on how to set up Pulse, see Set up Pulse.

As long as the StarTeam Server has Pulse Code Review application enabled and configured, you can use your client to access code review functionality.

Access Pulse Code Review

There are a number of ways to access Pulse Code Review from Cross Platform Client: From the toolbar, the item context menu, or the change package context menu.

You can also launch Pulse Code Review Perspective from the VCM Merge Preview Perspective Page toolbar button.

Toolbar

  1. Open a project.
  2. Select the Pulse Code Review perspective button from the toolbar. The Pulse Code Review perspective will open.

  3. If this the first time launching the perspective the Pulse Code Review MyWork page will be loaded, otherwise the last accessed page will be displayed.

    Caution: Pulse Users are created when a logged in StarTeam user launches the Pulse Code Review Perspective for the first time. It is essential for all users participating in the Code Review process to login to StarTeam and launch the Pulse Code Review Perspective. This would ensure that the Pulse Code Review Process has access to the list of users who are a part of the Code Review Process.

  4. Refer to the Pulse Code Review Help for further information on the MyWork page.

Item Context Menu

  1. Open a project.
  2. Ensure the Content Perspective is enabled.
  3. Right click a single item in the Items Pane.
  4. Select Open Pulse Code Review… from the context menu.
  5. The Pulse Code Review perspective will launch and will attempt to load the Pulse Code Review, review page, for the referencing the selected item.
  6. Refer to the Pulse Code Review Help for further information on the Review page and how to process a review.

Change Package Context Menu

  1. Open a project.
  2. Ensure the Change Perspective is enabled.
  3. Right click a single change package in the Items Pane.
  4. Select Open Pulse Code Review Changeset… from the context menu.
  5. The Pulse Code Review perspective will launch and will attempt to load the Pulse Code Review, Changeset page, for the selected change package.
  6. Refer to the Pulse Code Review Help for further information on the Changeset page and how to create a review for a change package.

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Pulse Code Review Settings

You can control how content flows into a view by enforcing change package reviews before or after a commit, or by preventing code check ins.

For example, a release view may only permit VCM commits which are code reviewed and approved, and will prevent any file check ins by any users except a build system (such as Jenkins) user who checks in auto-incremented build number files.

For details, see Reviewing or Modifying View Properties.

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Uncommitted Change Package workflow using Pulse Code Reviews

If the view is set to require Code Reviews prior to committing a VCM session, the Commit button is disabled until the associated code review is approved.

Once approved, the CPC session may be committed, but cannot be restarted.

If the commit fails, for example, if a target view change caused a ‘runtime’ merge conflict, you can re-open the code review and move it to rework. Then restart the VCM session, make the relevant changes, get it re-approved, and commit it.

In general, you can always make changes to a code review approved VCM session by re-opening it (sending it for rework) in Pulse.

Once a project has been registered in Pulse, all views of that project are automatically registered for code reviews when the change package is delivered to that view.

However, if any view in the project is set up to require code reviews prior to committing a session, then automatic registration is disabled.

All views in the parent and child trees are not registered on the change package delivery.

The rationale behind this thinking is that if changes are required to be code reviewed for cross- view VCM operations, then it is unlikely that check-in change packages in parent or child views would also be relevant for automatic code reviews.

They may, however, be manually registered by the Pulse administrator.

In this sense, an organization will (in general) opt-in to pulse code reviews, rather than opt-out.

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