Title:        aegis
Version:      3.5
Submitted:    Nov 9 1994
Author:       Peter Miller <pmiller@bmr.gov.au>
Submittor:    Peter Miller <pmiller@bmr.gov.au>
Description:  project change supervisor


        Aegis is a CASE tool with a difference.  In the spirit of
        the UNIX Operating System, Aegis is a small component
        designed to work with other programs.

        Many CASE systems attempt to provide everything, from
        bubble charts to source control to compilers.  Users are
        trapped with the components supplied by the CASE system,
        and if you don't like one of the components (it may be
        too limited, for instance), then that is just tough.

        In contrast, UNIX provides many components of a CASE
        system - compilers, editors, dependency maintenance tools
        (such as make), source control tools (such as RCS).  You
        may substitute the tool of your choice if you don't like
        the ones supplied with the system - gcc, jove, cake, to
        name just a few.  Aegis adds to this list with software
        configuration management, and true to UNIX philosophy,
        Aegis does not dictate the choice of any of the other
        tools (although it may stretch them to their limits).

        Enough hype, what is it that Aegis does?  Just what is
        software configuration management?  This question is
        sufficiently broad as to require a book in answer.  In
        essence, Aegis is a project change supervisor.  It
        provides a framework within which a team of developers
        may work on many changes to a program independently, and
        Aegis coordinates integrating these changes back into the
        master source of the program, with as little disruption
        as possible.  Resolution of contention for source files,
        a major headache for any project with more than one
        developer, is one of Aegis's major functions.

        It should be noted that Aegis is a developer's tool, in
        the same sense as make or RCS are developer's tools.  It
        is not a manager's tool - it does not provide progress
        tracking or manage work allocation.