File completely broken after a "catastriphic failure"

Discussion of open issues, suggestions and bugs regarding file and folder merge tool – Code Compare
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alexey_zimarev
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue 26 Nov 2013 13:43

File completely broken after a "catastriphic failure"

Post by alexey_zimarev » Fri 21 Nov 2014 10:17

I have a very bad experience with Code Compare. Just installed the latest version and had a chance to merge today. One .csproj file. All suggestions were proper, I was very happy. But when I clicked on "Accept", I got a "catastrophic failure" error and my .csproj file got completely broken. So, now my version is irreversibly lost and I can only take the server version and try to figure out what my changes were.

This makes the tool a very dangerous beast. If some merges result in such failures, I can lose my code that I could have been writing for days. I know I could use Git and local commits but this is a completely different story, for now my company uses TFS VCS and I have to check-in.

I would like to hear some feedback from DevArt on this tool behaviour.

Artem
Devart Team
Posts: 137
Joined: Mon 21 Jun 2010 14:02

Re: File completely broken after a "catastriphic failure"

Post by Artem » Fri 21 Nov 2014 12:47

Hello Alexey,

I think a "catastrophic failure" is the result of the wrong csproj file merging, so you confused cause and effect. Code Compare like any other merge tool cannot resolve conflicts automatically, they should be resolved manually (see Three-Way File Comparison and Merging). By clicking the "Accept Result", you agree to the result of merging.

We will add the caution prompt for unresolved conflicts in the future version, but you should always check the merging result. Even if it does not contain any conflict technically, it may be logically wrong. Unfortunately, the tool that "realizes" the meaning of code does not exist so far.

Just to be safe, you can use shelvesets or backup your changes in any other way.
Feel free to suggest how we can improve Code Compare to make merge operations more safe in your workflow.

alexey_zimarev
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue 26 Nov 2013 13:43

Re: File completely broken after a "catastriphic failure"

Post by alexey_zimarev » Fri 21 Nov 2014 14:08

The conflicts were resolved manually and I pressed the Accept merge button. After that I got a catastrophic failure error and the csproj file got corrupted at places that were not touched by merges.

Artem
Devart Team
Posts: 137
Joined: Mon 21 Jun 2010 14:02

Re: File completely broken after a "catastriphic failure"

Post by Artem » Fri 21 Nov 2014 14:48

The only thing Code Compare performs on accept is saving content from the editor to the result file. Please send us the corrupted file via Contact Form if you still have it. Also, there is a small chance that the file is preserved in the temporary folder (%temp%\CodeCompare).

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