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Automating Script Generation with Version Control

Another nice feature of version control systems is their ability to automate file-based tasks using console applications and APIs. In conjunction with command-line compilers and scripting tools, these facilities allow you to easily do things like extract the latest version of a project from your code database and compile or run it from an automated process. Because the code is stored in a central database, and because the source code management system knows which version is most current, a simple API can provide all you need to construct automated processes to handle things like nightly test runs and weekly builds.

In VSS, this API is actually a COM interface that you can access from any Automation-capable ...