Version Control System Integration

Via a set of outbound integration endpoint plugins, it is possible to configure STEP to publish the system configuration to a branch in Git, an external Version Control System (VCS) (refer to:https://git-scm.com). Using inbound integration endpoint (IIEP) plugins, files from a Git branch can be combined, enriched with processing instructions, and imported on a target system as a STEPXML file.

This functionality allows for easy comparison of configurations across systems in a Development, Test, Acceptance, and Production (DTAP) environment and is meant to aid customers who need to transfer configuration changes between different systems and/or ensure systems are in sync configuration-wise.

Note: The 'configuration-management' add-on component must be activated to enable VCS.

Configuration / Data

In STEP, the distinction between configuration and data is not always clear. While most of the objects and settings that can be found in the STEP Workbench System Setup tab clearly are configuration, the Tree tab holds both data and configuration. For example, objects like import, export, and bulk update configurations are obviously configuration, but in addition, classification hierarchies, upper levels in the product and entity hierarchies, and entity structures used for modeling reference data are widely regarded as configuration.

For the functionality presented in the plugin topics and sections of the Version Control System Integration documentation, there is no preconceived notion of what is configuration and what is data. Instead, as described in the OIEP for VCS Integration topic (here), this can be configured. However, it should be stressed that the functionality is not designed to handle vast amounts of data objects (e.g., SKUs).

Information about VCS Integration

Additional information can be found in the following sections / topics:

  • Integration Endpoint Plugins for VCS Integration (here)
  • OIEP for VCS Integration (here)
  • IIEP for VCS Integration (here)
  • Editable Business Rules Format (here)
  • VCS: Example Setups (here)
  • VCS: Considerations and Limitations (here)