Databases, groups, and attributes

A database is the directory structure under which all Razor data and configuration information is stored. The organization and structure of the data, the relationships between data components, the views used to display the data, and the access methods are completely up to you. Each database consists of Razor groups. A group is simply a specific collection within the database. There are groups dedicated to file version control, issues, and threads which are created and named by the user to meet the user's needs.

A database can be accessed by any machine on your network (e.g. LAN, WAN).

Once Razor has been properly installed on your system (unless you are only running Razor remote clients,¹) you need to make one or more databases for it to run against. You are allowed to have as many databases as you wish. Each of the Razor tools can work on only one database at a time.

Each Razor group can take on its own persona. The information tracked, the process enforcement, the reporting can all be unique to a Razor group. Razor provides a set of configurable attributes which may be assigned to files, threads, projects, or issues. These attributes can be radio boxes, X-OF-MANY selectors, pull-down menus, text fields, lists, checkboxes, time stamps, or states. The user can then control the display and selection of objects based on the setting of attributes. Reports and queries can also be generated which take advantage of these settings.

TIP: Take a look at the section entitled "Containers: databases, groups, and folders" on page 183 for an overview of the different organizational concepts employed by Razor. Having a good understanding of these concepts will really help in laying out your database structure.

Creating databases

To create a Razor database, you must first decide where the database itself will reside on your system disk.

Since a Razor database is often meant to be a shared resource between a variety of people working on the same project, it must be in a network-accessible location. The location of the database does not matter very much, but minimizing network traffic can improve performance. The only requirement is that the resultant directory tree and location are readable and writable by the server and readable by users.

NOTE: In order to minimize permissions and security issues, please do not have `root' create the database. The Razor Administrator should run the rz_new_database script. You may need/want root to create the directory where the database will exist, but the ownership and permissions of that directory should be changed to allow only the database owner to write into the directory. Database permissions are controlled via the Access_list file, which is discussed on page 267 and "Access controls" on page 199.

In our example, we will assume that the database is for the StarGuide project, and that we want to have the database tree be at the same level as the home directory of the various members of the team. Please substitute your own directory names into the following flow as appropriate.

Creating a database repository

A good database organization recognizes the fact that multiple databases will be created. Creating a single directory that will hold all databases is a reasonable thing to do. This provides a single root for backups, permits sharing common files, scripts, etc., and just makes life a little simpler. A razor_db directory is created under the razoradm home account path as follows:

# mkdir /home/razoradm/razor_db

Running rz_new_database

The example below puts the database in the directory named /home/razoradm/razor_db/Starguide, and the installation in the directory
/home/razoradm/Razor/scripts. Please substitute the directory path you have chosen. It also shows the creation of a file control group called Devel.

# cd /home/razoradm/razor_db
# mkdir Starguide
# /home/razoradm/Razor/scripts/rz_new_database
Checking your configuration...

The Razor license info is already in /home/razoradm/Razor_lm
Do you want to use an alternate license area? [y/n]² 
(answer `n' if you're not sure) [n] 

The Razor database contains all of the files related to
the Razor programs.  It is accessed by all users of these
programs.

Where should I install your Razor database? 
/home/razoradm/razor_db/Starguide

Creating the ISSUES group...

The default version control system used by Razor is SCCS.  
Razor also supports RCS, if you prefer.³

Would you like to use RCS for ++ISSUES++? [y/n] 
(answer `n' if you're not sure) [n] 


Will you be using this database for file version control 
and/or build management? [y] ⁴

Razor groups are created to contain related information for teams 
(groups) of users.  To start with, you must define at least one 
Razor group.  Additional groups may be added later by executing 
the script `rz_add_group'.


What is the name of your first group: Devel⁵

The default version control system used by Razor is SCCS.  
Razor also supports RCS, if you prefer.

Would you like to use RCS for Devel? [y/n] 
(answer `n' if you're not sure) [n] y

The group `Devel' has been successfully added to the Razor 
database.


The PROJECT group has been added to the Razor database.⁶

Installation complete.  Additional setup information is in the 
file:

/home/razoradm/razor_db/Starguide/RAZOR_UNIVERSE/
rz_new_database.info

Would you like to display it now? [y] n

Database creation is now complete. The script wrote additional setup information into the file rz_new_database.info in the RAZOR_UNIVERSE directory. Please take the time to read through it and follow the directions as presented. If you don't, you'll have to figure out a bunch of things on your own and could end up being totally frustrated. (We're trying to avoid that wherever possible!)

Directly under the initial directory will be two important files; rz_prep and rz_prep.sh. In order to take advantage of the Razor programs, and access the desired database, the rz_prep files must utilized⁷. C Shell users will need to "source" the rz_prep file. Bourne or Korn Shell users will need to "dot" (.) in the rz_prep.sh file. In either case, we recommend putting the above step into each user's .login or .profile file, as necessary.

Injecting existing SCCS/RCS investments

Razor does provide a mechanism to inject your existing SCCS/RCS database directly into a database. Refer to "Injecting existing SCCS/RCS investments" on page 86.

Making additional file control groups

You have the option of adding new groups to a Razor database at any time, even if you did not initially indicate that you wanted to use Razor for file version control.

1. Bring the related database server down before doing any work.

# razor down

2. Execute the rz_add_group script (as the owner of the database)...

# rz_add_group <group_name>

... where <group_name> is what you've decided should be the name of the new group. You will be prompted for the archival engine for this group.

3. If you wish, edit the Attributes file for the new group to suit your needs. You may even want to just copy the Attributes file from an existing file control group.⁸

4. Bring the related database server back up.

# razor up

Making additional issues groups

You have the option of adding new issues groups to a Razor database at any time.

1. Bring the related database server down before doing any work.

# razor down

2. Execute the rz_add_issues_group script (as the owner of the database).

# rz_add_issues_group <group_name>

Where <group_name> is what you've decided should be the name of the new issues group. You will also be prompted for the preferred archival engine.

NOTE: For issues groups, you will be prompted as to whether you would like to select an issue number prefix other than the default of "I". Only single alphabetic characters (A-Z) are permitted.

3. If you wish, edit the Attributes file for the new group to suit your needs. You may even want to just copy over the Attributes of an existing issues group.⁹

4. Bring the related database server back up.

# razor up

Making additional custom groups

You also have the option of adding custom groups, either issues or file control, to a Razor database at any time.

1. Bring the related database server down before doing any work.

# razor down

2. Execute the rz_add_custom_group script (as the owner of the database). You will be prompted for the preconfigured group, group name, preferred archival engine, and prefix (for issues groups). Below is an example of creating an issues group named "ai".

# rz_add_custom_group

The pre-configured file groups are...

         1) Code_development
         2) Document_management
         3) Web_development

The pre-configured issue groups are...

         1) Action_items
         2) Bug_tracking
         3) Customer_tracking
         4) Music
         5) Peer_Review
         6) Support_Helpdesk
         7) ToDo

Would you like to add a pre-configured group? (y/n) [y] 

Would you like to add an issue(i) or file(f) group? (i/f) [i] 

The pre-configured issue groups are...

         1) Action_items
         2) Bug_tracking
         3) Customer_tracking
         4) Music
         5) Peer_Review
         6) Support_Helpdesk
         7) ToDo

Please select the desired group (1-7): 1

Name of new group: [Action_items] ai


The default archival engine used by Razor is SCCS.  
Razor also supports RCS, if you prefer.

Would you prefer to use RCS for group [ ++ISSUES++.ai] ? [y/n]
(answer `n' if you're not sure) [n] 

By default, all issue numbers will be preceded by
the letter `I'.  You can specify an alternate value.

Issue number prefix [I]: A
Checking selected prefix...

The issues group `++ISSUES++.ai' has been successfully added
to the Razor database.


Configuring group [ ++ISSUES++.ai ] ...

Group configuration complete.

3. If you wish, edit the Attributes file for the new group to suit your needs.

4. Bring the related database server back up.

# razor up

¹ Refer to "Remote UNIX Client Applications" on page 301 for more details about remote client set up.
² The script will look at your present configuration and ask some simple questions. Except under very unusual circumstances, you should accept the defaults you are offered as shown in the square brackets "[]".
³ Even if you are only using Razor for problem tracking, a version control engine is still required for issues. Razor allows you to specify a different archival engine for each group. Once selected, you can't change it. Refer to the Q&A section "Which archive engine should I pick?" on page 339 for more details.
⁴ If you say no, you are all finished answering questions. You can always come back later and decide to take advantage of the file version control aspect of the tool.
⁵ A Razor group should not be confused with a UNIX group: they are different beasts. See "Databases, groups, and attributes" on page 31 and "Containers: databases, groups, and folders" on page 183.
⁶ The PROJECT group is used by the threads tool to manage a collection of related threads (a thread of threads). See "Projects: Thread of threads" on page 143.
⁷ PC and remote clients as described in Appendix E and Appendix F will not have to perform this step. It is performed automatically as part of the connection process.
⁸ See the "Customization & Personalization" chapter on page 183 for a full discussion of how to set up the Attributes file. It controls a great deal of how the issues, versions and threads programs behave.
⁹ See the "Customization & Personalization" chapter on page 183 for a full discussion of how to set up the Attributes file. It controls a great deal of how the issues, versions and threads programs behave.


(Part 7 of 12 for this section) (Generated 09/13/99 at 17:37:48)