Versioning
Softwares that are conceived to work in multiuser edition environments need to take care of data locking. Typically, two different methods can be used to handle this problem: pessimistic and optimistic locking.
Fusion supports both methods for locking data. You can use the software the way you prefer. The power of versioning comes from the combination of work processes with optimistic locking. On the Fusion platform, it is implemented using the Oracle Workspace Manager technology.
Pessimistic locking
When pessimistic locking is used, the data will be marked as locked before being edited, preventing concurrent users to edit it. This locking method eliminate the complex task of reconsiling the data that might have been updated in another work session.
Optimistic locking
Optimistic locking is quite the opposite. Every user can modify the same data at the same time. Optimistic locking assumes that conflicts will not occur frequently, it assumes that the same data will rarely be modified during the same time frame. Even though those conflicts do not occur often, when they do occur, applying the changes cannot be completed until they are resolved.
Scenarios
A scenario is a virtual environment where you can edit data. The modifications done in one scenario are never made public outside of the scenario until you explicitly apply them to the parent scenario. This mean you can use scenarios to analyse different options for a project, and then choose the best one and only commit this one.
You can create yourself as many scenarios as you want. They get created using a tree hierarchy: each scenario inherits from another scenario, at the exception of the LIVE scenario.
The LIVE version
On the top of the tree is the LIVE version. The LIVE version is a special instance of a scenario and is the only scenario that has no parent scenario. This version can be considered as the most up to date one. Every project your team works on should eventually end up in the LIVE version. You could work directly in the LIVE version, but pessimistic locking should be enabled to ensure full data integrity on the database content.
Markers
When you have done a part of your project you can create yourself a marker. A marker is a way to tell the environment that you might have to rollback to that point later in time. You can use markers as batch undo.
What is so great about versioning?
Historic
Being implemented using Oracle Worspace Manager, when using versioning, you are one step away from having the history of your networks. The only thing that needs to be done is to activate the option in Oracle.
Workflows
Versioning is not only a check-out/check-in procedure. This architecture can be used to assign different permissions to user groups, based on their role in the organization. It can be adapted to support a wide range of business processes.
The most simple way of using version is to create yourself a scenario under the LIVE version. Once the modifications are completed, you apply them to the LIVE version, all at once.
If you have people responsible for quality assurance in your organisation, you can make them approve an editing scenario before it is applied to the LIVE version
Differences
You want to know exactly what changes you made for a scenario? Or only since a specific marker? With versioning, viewing the differences between two version is only one click away. With this feature, you can make sure you modified everything you needed to before applying your changes to the parent scenario.