Quote:
Originally Posted by borked
That is a great writeup Varius. Some common sense stuff in there.
I do disagree with you however on the importance of version control ;)
Personally, all my code is versioned, and each client can access their own repository if they want to (l/p are sent on billing so further programmers can take it on if required).
I've had, too many times franckly, a client say how about add XYZ, and then scrub that idea when it gets delivered cos it doesn't work the way expected. A simple rollback saves me more pain, and the client more $.
Also, because it's versioned, they/I can deploy easily any upgrades additions with a simple svn up.
Trac goes without saying as it means I can have XX clients at any one go and keep my workflow and clients happy, since I'm not having to rely on emails to track what the problem/request is w/r to code. If the customer wants, they can post directly to trac to submit tickets, or they can just email me and I add it as a ticket for them (haven't streamlined my workjflow to auto-add trac tickets yet ;) )
Each to their own, but setting up SVN with Trac is like a 10 minute job if you know what you're doing, and should be the entire core of any freelance programmer's workflow IMVHO.
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Some good points and I'm sure many will agree. I am not trying to tell people NOT to use version control system, I was ust sharing my personal preferences when it comes to them
I suppose my personal opinion may be due more to the fact that most freelancing I did was fixing problems, scripting, optimizing queries and generally urgent work on clients' own servers as opposed to building sites from the ground up. Sites I have built from the ground up, in almost all cases, were never worked on by anyone other than myself (though I still strive to maintain clean, modular code at all times).
Also, I write all my code with vi/nano via SSH; I don't think I have developed on a workstation or my laptop in over ten years. That fact probably also contributes to my dislike of third-party applications for version control and having to transfer/sync files.
Regardless, the opinions by yourself and others above seem to indicate I'm the exception not the rule, so I think those reading the article should definitely look into version control structures if it fits their needs - it has just never suited my own
