INFO: Time Difference in Checking Out vs. Getting File in SourceSafe

MORE INFORMATION

Following are the steps that Visual SourceSafe goes through when it checks out a file. The order of the steps depends on the system configuration and the user's actions, so these steps may not occur in this exact order:

1. Your user rights are verified to make sure that you have the proper access rights for the operation.
2. Visual SourceSafe checks to see if the file is currently checked out by you or any other user.
3. If someone has the file checked out already, the multiple checkouts setting is selected. (This applies only to text files because binary files cannot be set up for multiple checkouts.) If the other user currently has the file checked out and is checking the file out again to the same directory, the operation fails. If the other user currently has the file checked out and is checking the file out again to a different directory, the operation works.
4. If Visual SourceSafe verifies that you can check the file out, then the log file is written with a checkout record for you.
5. The Status.dat file is updated.For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   130270 BUG: SourceSafe Reports a Date/Time of 1/1/70

6. Visual SourceSafe looks for a Replace_Writable variable and, depending on that setting, will skip the file, replace the file, or merge the file.
7. A GET happens.

This procedure causes the checkout operation to go much slower than when SourceSafe gets a file. Following are the steps that Visual SourceSafe goes through when it gets a file:

1. Your user rights are checked to see if you have the proper access rights for the operation.
2. Visual SourceSafe looks for a Replace_Writable variable and, depending on that setting, skips the file, replaces the file, or merges the file.
3. A GET happens.

Most users of Visual SourceSafe are running over a local area network; the network file I/O and data transfer slow down the checkout operation even more. Note that users of Microsoft Visual FoxPro see a larger delay due to the intermediate text files that are generated from the FoxPro binary files. This step does not occur in Visual Basic or Visual C++.