Own your source code.

If you have anyone work on your BV site that is making modifications to the Core files in the /bin folder make sure you always have a current copy of your source code given that you have the BV Commerce Toolkit version of the application. You are best to have a source repository.

Presently I am working with a client that outsourced a lot of code changes to a company in India. Guess what, no source for all the changes made to date. So faced with this issue where do you go from here. You can try to work around it adding your own code or you can start over. Either option is a lot of unneeded work that would be avoided with the source.

So just a heads up for all site owners out there that may be making adjustments or plan on doing so. Your business depends on you having full control over your assets.

Well, it depends Matt. :) Most files within the website will have the backing .vb files which are not an issue.

However, if someone is rebuilding the dll's in the bin folder you have to decide how you are going to deal with this. In order for the client to have access to the source for the BV core files they must be licensed for the BV Commerce Toolkit version of the application which is a given. If they are not licensed then they really should not have anyone mess with these files at all.

Decisions also have to be made on adjusting them in the first place since if you do you are jumping off the upgrade path for service packs unless you compare the changes made to your changes and merge the two. Most often I build my own dll’s and do not touch the BV dll’s if at all possible. It’s just where someone has in the past and you do not have the source is where the main issue is.

Also, I will usually setup a repository for larger projects using Sourcegear Vault. I will give the client an option of being able to login to the repository themselves if they wish as long as they purchase a license. That way they can always make sure they are getting a backup of the change process.

In the end though it’s all about owning your assets and yes I suppose it will raise the cost a bit for the end user. The alternatives though can be far more costly. For example with this site I am currently working with do we try and work around what has already been done not being about to really see what has been done or do we start over redoing all the modifications to date. Either option is going to cost more than if it was done right from the gate. Cowboys that go in and change a bunch and are history can really mess things up down the road.

Don't be afraid to have a (good) developer modify the source code. Really, it's OK! Our view of BV Commerce Toolkit is that it is a great platform from which to build. It's the base functionality that your store can have, not the end. We handle all of service pack updates for our clients so they never have to worry about trying to mesh different code bases.

I completely agree with Kman...this is good, sound advice.

By default, if a developer creates source code on a project that you pay for, they still own the copyright. This is frequently misunderstood. In many cases, that's fine but in some situations it's not. If it's complied code, you're also limited, obviously in terms of future maintenance. You should specify and negotiate the IP issues with a developer and possibly pay more if you need ownership rights. Often what we do is to specify a non-exclusive unlimited license for source code that we acquire from 3rd parties for our own use and allow the developer to resell or further develop on their own behalf...it's a good compromise and usually in the interests of both parties.

<SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU">John Power
<FONT style="COLOR: #008b8b">CEO - BizTools
www.biztoolsanalytics.com</FONT>