The MULTI Version Control System
	MULTI Version Control System (MVC) is seamlessly integrated into the MULTI IDE making version control of projects efficient and unobtrusive. The most common version control operations are automatic. For example, the MULTI Text Editor will "checkout" a file being edited when the first change is made. If the edit is aborted, the checkout will be aborted as well. When the file is closed, MULTI prompts the user for comments describing the edit. MULTI then automatically checks the file back in. MVC provides:
	Automatic checkout and checkin from Editor Prompt for comments Display of change history Show last edit for region of code Merge branches MVC provides version control of application source files, and enables change history and graphical display of version differences.
	Managing Releases
	When shipping an intermediate version of a program, it is customary to copy and save all of the files associated with that distribution. With MULTI, this is no longer necessary. Instead, simply give that version of the program a name (e.g. Release 2.5). MULTI Version Control interacts with the MULTI Project Builder to use that name to retrieve all of the program components as they existed at the time of the release.
	Managing Program Branches
	Having two versions of the same program undergoing parallel development is normally an invitation to administrative disaster. Nevertheless, the pressures of the real world often induce programmers to make private copies of a program for special development. MVC accommodates this need and brings some measure of control to it by allowing for the creation of branches of a project; development can proceed along both the main trunk and the branch without interference. MULTI provides semiautomatic functions to ease the process of merging the versions back together. The merge function merges the changes made on both branches into the merged file. Only in cases where the same lines of code are changed along both branches is manual intervention required.
	3rd Party Version Control
	Users wishing to use 3rd party Version Control programs can do so from MULTI through a flexible configuration dialog. For example, one popular Version Control program is Rational's ClearCase�N. MULTI can be configured to invoke ClearCase, rather than MVC, for most version control operations. Thus, MULTI's open interface enables user choice of version control software, while retaining the comprehensive MULTI IDE framework and other development tool components.