Artifact Preparation and Deployment Process

This document outlines the process of preparing an artifact ZIP based on selected revisions, along with an example for better understanding.

Example Scenario

Git Logs: (A is the latest revision) A → B → C → D → E → F → G → H → I → J Selected Revisions: B, C, F, G, J

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Artifact Creation Process

1. Ensure Revision XML Files For each selected revision, ensure the presence of a corresponding revision XML file containing:

   • Commit details

   • List of added, modified, or deleted files If any XML file is missing, it is dynamically generated.

2. Gather Changed Files Collect all added, modified, or deleted files from the selected revisions (B, C, F, G, J) using the XML files.

3. Checkout the Latest Revision Switch to the latest selected revision (e.g., B).

4. Copy Files to Package Directory Copy all gathered files into a package directory from the checkout of the latest selected revision.

5. Prepare Deployment Files Generate package.xml and destructiveChanges.xml within the package directory.

6. Create the Artifact ZIP Archive the package directory, which includes the selected files and metadata files. This ZIP file is used for custom deployments.

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Deployment Process

1. Full Deployment

Retrieve the artifact ZIP from: .rabit → scm → changelabel → {repo_id} → {release_label_id}.zip Deploy the ZIP as-is.

2. Selective Deployment

For selective deployments:

• Retrieve package.xml and destructiveChanges.xml from: scm → scmcommithistory → {repo_id} → {branch_name} → {release_label_name}

• Display metadata components in the UI for user selection.

• Based on selection, extract corresponding files from the artifact ZIP for deployment.

If deployment issues occur, these paths serve as the source of truth for verification.

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Implementation Considerations

Consideration 1: Potential Missing Files in the Artifact ZIP

Scenario: Files may be missing from the ZIP even if their revisions were selected.

Example: Git Log: A → B → C → D Changes:

• A: A.cls modified

• B: C.cls deleted

• C: C.cls modified

• D: D.cls modified

Selected Revisions: A, C, D Result: The ZIP contains A.cls and D.cls, but not C.cls.

Reason: The latest selected revision is A. Since C.cls was deleted in B, it doesn’t exist in the checkout of A, and thus is excluded.

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Consideration 2: No Delta Support for Release Labels

Scenario: Release labels do not currently support delta metadata logic, which may result in:

• Unintended inclusion of extra metadata

• Missing specific modifications

Example: Adding a CustomLabel results in the entire CustomLabels.labels file being included, even if only one label was changed.

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Repository Type Exceptions

1. Non-DX Repositories

Modifying a CustomField includes the entire CustomObject file, which contains all child metadata (e.g., CustomField, RecordType).

2. DX Repositories

Only the specific CustomField file is included, as metadata is stored modularly.

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Summary

These behaviors are a result of the system's current file-level change tracking and repository structure. Supporting delta-level preparation would require significant architectural changes, particularly in how the system identifies and retrieves file differences.