Date Posted: April 21, 2009
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- 1. We use a version control system in our project. Will the review comments be stored in the version control system along with the code itself? How are the comments managed by Eclipse? Where are they stored?
- 2. When should a Reviewer add comments? When should only the Scribe add comments?
- 3. Why doesn't the confirmation message appear when a Reviewer adds a comment?
- 4. During a Team Meeting/Synchronous review, how does the tool determine when to show the Owner's current file/line/comment to a reviewer? Sometimes the reviewer wants to follow Owner's actions, at other times a reviewer doesn't want to be disturbed by the Owner's actions, for example, to review other parts of the code.
1. We use a version control system in our project. Will the review comments be stored in the version control system along with the code itself? How are the comments managed by Eclipse? Where are they stored?
Review comments are saved in an XML files. There is a comments file for each project-review-reviewer triplets. The file name is Comments_ReviewName__ReviewerName.xml. The comments files are located in a 'comments' directory under the Project's directory. You can version control those files with any version control application.
2. When should a Reviewer add comments? When should only the Scribe add comments?
In team review (synchronous review), only the Scribe should add comments. In on-line review (asynchronous review) there shouldn't be a scribe - each reviewer can review the code and adds comments on his own time.
3. Why doesn't the confirmation message appear when a Reviewer adds a comment?
The "comment arrived" message purpose is to be displayed on the Owner screen (which is usually projected to a white board) so people without laptops can read and approve that the phrasing is correct. It is only relevant in team review when only the Scribe should add comments.
4. During a Team Meeting/Synchronous review, how does the tool determine when to show the Owner's current file/line/comment to a reviewer? Sometimes the reviewer wants to follow Owner's actions, at other times a reviewer doesn't want to be disturbed by the Owner's actions, for example, to review other parts of the code.
In the 'Review Comments' view there is a Pause/Resume button that does exactly that. See the Code Review Guide in Eclipse help for instructions. Note that it is only pausing the processing of messages arriving from the Owner by the Reviewer and not vice versa, so if the Reviewer is adding a comment, the Owner will see it right away.
