Subject: [xsl] Rant From: "Chris Bayes" <Chris@xxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Sun, 6 May 2001 00:56:22 +0100 |
Hi All, I haven't used Microsoft FP extensions for a while. In fact I haven't used the Publishing/Deployment tools for over 4 years (they didn't work back then). They are running on my local network and I use SourceSafe checking in things as I change them etc. As you might be aware my host got liquidated recently and I had to redeploy my web. Initially I just FTP'd my local master web up to my new FP aware site (6 hours). This got me back up and running. I thought I'd connect with FP/VI to my new FPe aware host and see how it worked. My first problem was that I had FTP'd all the _vti_* files up there too and when I connected my host site seemed to think that all my files were in SourceSafe. As my host isn't running SourceSafe I couldn't do anything. Hey no problem that's reasonable I'd transfered all the config files which were only relevant to my local web/network up to my host's server. Solution: delete all _vti_* files and then re-apply the server extensions. All worked fine. I'd like to get my local web *exactly* in sync with my host/remote site to save any problems in the future. The first problem is that the deployment/publishing idiot can't understand that pages on the host/remote site newer than any local pages don't need to be uploaded. Duh!! Ok no worries. I'll just upload everything so that everything is in sync. (another 6 hours) The next problem is that *occasionally* I had created some files in my web with notepad or photoshop and FP/VI weren't aware of them. No worries. If they don't go they don't go but all i have to do is add them to SourceSafe and they will go next time. Oh No!!! VI/SourceSafe sees them and craps-out. Then there were times when VI wasn't being co-operative so I changed the protection on a file from read-only so I could edit in notepad. VI/SourceSafe sees that it is not read-only on disk so craps-out. Then there are other situations where VI just doesn't like the look of a file which is in SourceSafe and checked in and is read-only on disk. The only way around this is to delete the file from VI and re-add the damn thing. This might not seem like a big problem but when the Deployment system takes 1.5 hours to run before it tells you that there is a small problem that you aren't worried about and then craps-out it is a pain. HEY out of 5000 files 50 unusual ones aren't a big deal but that means running the damn thing from the beginning for 2 days just to get your web in sync. I now know why NO big sites let FP extensions/developers anywhere near their live site. And now to the point of the rant and where the list might be getting interested. It takes about 3 minutes to run dirTOxml on my site. I have a perl script that will convert _vti_cnf files to xml (add 1 minute) and SourceSafe is scriptable (add 5 minutes) so can be converted to xml. That makes at most 10 minutes to create an xml representation of all dir/SourceSafe/meta data for a 50meg site. Now validate it with schema/relax/schematron/plain old XSLT (5 minutes) and you get a report of all the files that will cause problems with the Idiot Deployment Wizard. Compare that with 1.5 hours *bang* problems with another file!!! Fix it and start again!!! Over and Over again till it works!!! And that's without actually uploading anything (another 6 hours) If anyone is using FP or VI and wants to work on this or if Microsoft is listening then just let me know!!!!!!!!! Ciao Chris XML/XSL Portal http://www.bayes.co.uk/xml XSL-List info and archive: http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list
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