Developing and Deploying Siebel eBusiness Applications > Setting Up a Developer's Local Database >

About the Local Development Environment

Developers working with Siebel Tools work on a local database. A local database is a snapshot of the server database that is stored on a user's machine. The data in each local database is a subset of the server database, as determined by each user's visibility rules. The development environment is illustrated in Figure 12.

Developers check out object definitions from the server database, then after making and testing changes on their local machines, they check them back into the server database.

• Check out. Copies selected projects from the server database to the local database and locks the projects on the server. Locking the project on the server prevents other developers from checking it out.
• Check in. Copies selected projects (including any changes made by the developer) from the local database back to the server database and releases the lock on the server.

Figure 12.  Development Environment

Working on a local database using check in and check out, rather than directly on the server database, provides the following benefits.

• Allows you to roll back unwanted changes without overwriting the work of other developers. Working on a local database gives you the option of not checking in changes to the server. Until you check in changes, the server database remains a clean backup.
• Allows several developers to concurrently use a single repository.
• Allows developers to prototype configuration changes by locking a project locally rather than checking out and locking the project on the server.
• Allows you to work remotely because you are not required to be connected to the development server.

NOTE:  Siebel Web templates are not included in the check in and check out mechanism used to control object definitions. You must manage Siebel Web template files using a third-party source control application or a manual process. Read Moving Modified Web Templates and Related Files.

For information on how to perform check in and check out, read Checking Out Projects from the Server and Checking In Projects.