Working on multiple platforms and with other group members creates challenges for automated data collection and analysis. Suppose two group members work at various times on the file foo.java, but one member uses Windows and edits a local copy of the file in c:\cvs\Saturn\foo.java, while the other member uses Unix and edits their local copy in /usr/local/home/sam/Saturn/foo.java. How can the system determine that these two file paths actually refer to the same file?
Hackystat addresses this need through the concept of "Workspaces" and "Workspace Roots", which provide an abstract representation of directory paths that are platform-independent and allow group members flexibility in where they locate local copies of files. Section 3.3, “Overview of Workspaces, WorkspaceFiles, and Workspace Roots” and Section 3.4, “Defining Workspace Roots” provide more details on Workspaces in Hackystat.