[gperks]

Subversion and its ilk work great when multiple people change text files.

nib files however, not so good. keyedobjects.nib is a binary file, so conflicts occur and merges are impossible.

Is there something I'm missing to make this easier? Can IB be told to write text instead?

What's the usual procedure for multiple developers working on nibs?

[Mithras]

Yes, you can have nib files written in an XML format -- I forget where the setting is, but it's in there somewhere, on a per-project basis.
I still doubt that merges would be very easy to manage, but it's worth trying.

[szymczyk]

To save a nib file as an XML file, open the nib file in Interface Builder and click the Nib tab in the nib file window. Select the Use text archive format checkbox.

[gperks]

THANK YOU!!!!

Much better. Most of our nibs were in text format already, somehow. All except MyDocument.nib - you know, the big one :-)

Thanks again!

[gperks]

Unfortunately even the XML-based nib files aren't easy to merge. Hundreds of CF$UID (or something) numbers are different and in conflict. How can I possibly resolve all those?

Seems like at this point we will have to lock the nib file in svn, or basically talk to one another about who is editing what. Yuck.

Sure there's a better way?

[gperks]

> I still doubt that merges would be very easy to manage

You're right. I hope this situation is improved in Leopard.

What does Apple do on large projects with a dozen developers? Without being able to share NIB files it must be difficult to coordinate.

Most source control systems are set up to not lock files. Sourcesafe is the only one I know that locks by default. I doubt Apple is using Sourcesafe

Nibs are such an important part of Cocoa development that it's difficult to avoid touching them.

[Love Calm Quiet]

Sounds like a big enough problem...
Have you tried posting the issue in any of Apple's own (developer?) forums?
If you reap any rewards, please let us know back here!
Best of luck

[bone666]

Simple, you check-in the .nib files as binary and not as text.

[gperks]

Comitting them as binary definitely means no merging is possible.

I'll try the Cocoa mailing list.

[Thinine]

Perhaps this is what the .xib file format is supposed to fix in Leopard. Seems an XML based nib file would merge much easier than any of the current solutions.

[Catfish_Man]

Originally Posted by Thinine 

Perhaps this is what the .xib file format is supposed to fix in Leopard. Seems an XML based nib file would merge much easier than any of the current solutions.

Even the XML based nib file described in this thread that's available on Tiger?

[WJMoore]

Originally Posted by gperks 

>Most source control systems are set up to not lock files. Sourcesafe is the only one I know that locks by default. I doubt Apple is using Sourcesafe

I believe Apple use Perforce mostly, which locks by default. You issue p4 edit to edit a file. If someone else issues p4 edit before you check the file in it will complain.

[gperks]

Not much insight from the Cocoa mailing list, I'm afraid. It would be awfully wonderful if Leopard's IB has this taken care of.