Recording Changes/Edits Made to a Baf File

[Tadz]

Are there others like me, who struggle to remember what changes they've made to Automation files ?

As a solution, I wondered if an extra tab could be put within the Automation Rules Editor screen, perhaps labelled 'Notes', where we could record any changes made upon the original......

General / Parameters / Conditions / Signals / Stored Values / Notes

Users may find other benefits to using this 'Notes' area.....successes, profit & losses, positives, negatives. Trigger notes that could well be useful when returning to that Baf after a period of time.

Would welcome what other members think.

[ShaunWhite]

I use Excel to maintain a software change log.
It gives me all the flexibility I need, it's searchable and sortable & you can embed links to results files, screen shots and the automation files themselves etc. I also record any other global changes such as refresh rates. You might find it helpful to also maintain a version number for each bot and then you can then easily return to previous versions from backups if necessary.

[jimibt]

I use Excel to maintain a software change log.
It gives me all the flexibility I need, it's searchable and sortable & you can embed links to results files, screen shots and the automation files themselves etc. I also record any other global changes such as refresh rates. You might find it helpful to also maintain a version number for each bot and then you can then easily return to previous versions from backups if necessary.

happy new year shaun. sounds like a great idea (in the absence of any source repo). i actually at one time used an old version of sourcesafe (i'm sure you'll remember that), to version all my various generic code stuff (excel and baf files amongst that). however, I think yourapproach is less intensive and gives a better overview of the thinking behind the changes, as well as any config changes made at the time of a version change. as well you know, small cumulative changes can take a rule round the block and back, so identifying the state of the baf file at the point that it went awry is pretty useful.

any chance you could post the bare bones template of that as i think i may adopt this type of recording now as it's more portable

[Tadz]

I use Excel to maintain a software change log.
It gives me all the flexibility I need, it's searchable and sortable & you can embed links to results files, screen shots and the automation files themselves etc. I also record any other global changes such as refresh rates. You might find it helpful to also maintain a version number for each bot and then you can then easily return to previous versions from backups if necessary.

Thanks Shaun, That's food for thought.

[ShaunWhite]

hny to you too Jimi
ahh SourceSafe, memories memories.

When I say I do it, I do it when I remember to And as for a template then perm any 3 from 8 really, it sounds fancy but it's just a list with date, bot name, version number, change, change notes, link 1, 2 , 3 etc. That said I haven't done anything with BA bots for a while and am slowly getting burried under piles of code version folders....someday I really must try and get my addled brain round GitHub

[ShaunWhite]

The other method of course is a pile of old notebooks full of illegible scribbles and underlined phrases that meant something at the time.

Maybe sorting those out this week will be a nice gentle way to get back into work, nothing like a good desk tidy-up to make you feel like you've been productive. I might even get the duster and polish out too, yes, that all suddenly feels like really high priority stuff.

[jimibt]

The other method of course is a pile of old notebooks full of illegible scribbles and underlined phrases that meant something at the time.

Maybe sorting those out this week will be a nice gentle way to get back into work, nothing like a good desk tidy-up to make you feel like you've been productive. I might even get the duster and polish out too, yes, that all suddenly feels like really high priority stuff.

not sure if i'm working today or not yet... will let you know tmro

[LinusP]

My understanding is that it’s just a text file, anyone just used git? You can then keep notes in the commit messages and have a full history.

[ShaunWhite]

My understanding is that it’s just a text file, anyone just used git? You can then keep notes in the commit messages and have a full history.

I probably should use it, but I don't. I make do with a log and a big old folder tree, but I always struggle to maintain one development stream and I spend more time than I should patching fixes into versions that will probably die a death.
Friend of mine once said if you're not organised it's because you're being lazy, there's a lot of truth in that.