Organizing Files, Versions, Assets

Getting Started Newbie Questions
#1

I need a better way to organize track, and find files, versions, and assets to projects.

I’m learning, testing, experimenting and building a small game, and find it’s getting harder and harder to find code and assets (“now where did I …”) or remember where I did what. And it’s only been a month!

Right now I’m just using the Finder in Mac OS X, and creating folders for each new version of a program, putting them in sub-folders under the general project name.

I’m using TextWrangler to code in. Since the name of all the code files is “main.lua” (in the Document flyout), I have to go up to the menu, or click each one to look at the path to get the name of the file (or go hunt in the Finder) to find something, and that’s also awkward.

I would prefer something free if possible. Corona Project Manager (CPM) might be nice, but finding or copying graphic or sound assets are the least of my problem, at this point. Finding code and juggling files and versions is the main headache.

Thanks!

Eric

[import]uid: 128346 topic_id: 23759 reply_id: 323759[/import]

#2

I recommend either CPM like you mentioned or www.coronacomplete.com

It’s pretty feature complete and more is on the way. It is a complete IDE.

[import]uid: 84637 topic_id: 23759 reply_id: 95917[/import]

#3

Learn to use git or another version control system.

Structure your project folders, e.g.

+ project  
 |  
 + project.git (code)  
 |  
 + project.assets (original images, audio, etc)  
 |  
 + project.wiki (mostly text files, notes to yourself, documentation, etc)

Subdivide your assets folder as necessary. Don’t put anything into your code directory that shouldn’t be packaged and distributed with your app. [import]uid: 44647 topic_id: 23759 reply_id: 95923[/import]

#4

@ Danny :
I downloaded CoronaComplete and have been trying it out. (CPM does not have a trial version – they only offer a money back guarantee, so am holding off until I see I really need it).

CoronaComplete seems like it is in a semi-early stage of development, but is ready to use and rapidly being added to. I sent the developer an email about a couple of needed features and he responded within 12 hours, and added those features and a slew of others in the next couple of days. He’s really on the ball!

CoronaComplete is like the “missing IDE” and is good for having many things all in one quick and easy-to-use place: bringing up the simulator, seeing output to the console, seeing all assets, code completion, in-context API reference, etc.

I am still seeing how CoronaComplete is going to be for file and asset management and juggling. I notice he *just* added a button for showing a file in the Finder, which is very useful.

Of course, part of file management and juggling is how one *uses* the tools (including the Finder), and not just the tool features themselves. Your practices if you will. I’m working on that too. :slight_smile: [import]uid: 128346 topic_id: 23759 reply_id: 95924[/import]

#5

@toby2:
I’ve been reluctant to start using a version control system because of the extra layer of complexity and learning involved. However I’m starting to see the need for it. But I’m just a single developer working on a small set of scripts. Most of the solutions look like overkill.

I will look into git. http://git-scm.com/
I’ve heard of Subversion and CVS (I recently worked at a web design/development firm that was pushing the use of one of them – I was doing mostly just artwork and minimal coding and resisted, plus the guy hated Macs and that’s what I have).

It looks like git uses a Terminal, text-based interface. So I started researching GUI-based Mac version control systems for dumb artists like me:

I’m looking into these:
http://www.gitboxapp.com/ -$19.99
http://gitx.frim.nl/
http://www.zennaware.com/cornerstone/ -$59
http://www.git-tower.com/ - $59

The more I look, the more I find … time to get back to work (& play). :slight_smile:

I think I need to get a handle on the other stuff I’m starting to use and learn first, but I’ll bookmark these.

Thanks

Eric [import]uid: 128346 topic_id: 23759 reply_id: 95929[/import]

#6

www.versionsapp.com

GIT/SVN doesn’t have to be hard with programs like that available :slight_smile:

All GUI, no command line knowledge is necessary [import]uid: 84637 topic_id: 23759 reply_id: 95931[/import]

#7

@toby Is your diagram of directories (folders)? And your dot notation is just an arbitrary way of naming sub-directories?

Eric [import]uid: 128346 topic_id: 23759 reply_id: 96170[/import]

#8

@platt.eric – yes, that’s a diagram of directories, the names for which are arbitrary. [import]uid: 44647 topic_id: 23759 reply_id: 96208[/import]

#9

In the process of installing and trying SourceTree version control software, I realized such GUI version control software assumes that besides already understanding version control concepts, you have installed the command line version control software and created repositories with it to load (Git, Subversion or Mercurial in this case).

So I learned the basic concepts and terminology of Version Control. This is an excellent tutorial:
A Visual Guide to Version Control:
http://betterexplained.com/articles/a-visual-guide-to-version-control/

I also realized that since I’ll be using Xcode at some point (only doing Android builds now), I’ll need to decide what source control solution would best integrate with that (Xcode supports both Git and Subversion).
Another deciding factor is the fact that Subversion uses a server (usually not local), whereas Git uses a local repository. That tends to favor Git for me.
It also seems that Git is a more up-and-coming package.

OK so assuming I’m going to use Git, what about using it with Coronacomplete? There’s no integration. Is Corona® Project Manager better in that respect?

That’s where I stand now…
[import]uid: 128346 topic_id: 23759 reply_id: 96218[/import]

#10

@platt.eric, I have no comment on Coronacomplete or CPM. I do think git is a good choice and if you do want a “git server” you can get one for free – Atlassian, the company behind SourceTree, also runs Bitbucket.org, a free hosted git repo service (well, free for teams of 5 or less). It’s actually pretty awesome for a free service, and even if you don’t collaborate, it’s good to have a backup. [import]uid: 44647 topic_id: 23759 reply_id: 96309[/import]