Using Unicorn to synchronize Sitecore databases and resolve item deployment problems. Presentation by Radoslaw Kozlowski, Sitecore & .NET developer at Coders Center

1. Synchronize easily
Sitecore Unicorn

2. Few words about me
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• My name is Radek Kozłowski
• I’m Senior Sitecore Developer at Coders Center
• I work with Sitecore for over 3 years
• I really enjoy Sitecore community, so I contribute to it 

3. >Why do we need serialization?
>What is Unicorn?
>Why should we use it?
>Serialization improvements
>Demo
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Agenda

4. >Moving Sitecore development items between environments
> Templates
> Presentational items: layouts, renderings and sublayouts
> Setting items
>Populating test/local environments with content from live instances
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Why do we need serialization?

5. >Sitecore packages
> Simple
> Error-prone
> Suitable for ad-hoc actions and full module packages
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Basic approaches

6. >Simple serializing items
> Default Sitecore mechanism
> Need manual action
> Very dangerous
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Basic approaches

7. >Utility that solves the issue of moving items
between Sitecore instances.
>Automatically serialize item changes as
they are made to Sitecore
>Sitecore items are serialized to files and
moved by the repository, insted of error-
prone packages
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What is Unicorn?

8. >Advanced serialization and comparision system
for Sitecore
>Complete replacement for the Sitecore
serialization format and filesystem organization
>YAML-based serialization formatter
>Serialization File System (SFS)
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Rainbow

9. >Serializing only the needed data
>Getting rid of merging conficts
>Getting rid of field content-length recalculation
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YAML - based serialization formatter

10. >Nonessential data - are inYAML comments
>Ignoring fields (e.g. __Updated)
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YAML - based serialization formatter

11. >Human readable file hierarchy
>Extremely long item name support
>Unlimited path length support
>Stores each included subtree in its own
hierarchy, reducing file name length
>Supports non-unique paths, while
keeping it human-readable
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Serialization File System (SFS)

12. >Solves the problem of moving Sitecore items between instances
>Helps merging changes in Sitecore items
>Saves the time of items deployment
>Transparent Synch – automated synchronization
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Why we should use it

13. >Great tool from Hedgehog
development
>Focused on user’s choice rather
than repository
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Something similar? TDS

14. >Selecting items fromVisual
Studio
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Something similar? TDS

15. >Choosing what to do with
changes
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Something similar? TDS

16. 16
Demo time

17. >Extremely good Sitecore module
>Very easy to synchronize
>Can automate serialization
>Bit harder to configure thanTDS
>A lot of improvements
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Conclusions

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Thank you 
>My blog: SitecoreCoffee.com
>Twitter: @Radek_Kozlowski
>E-mail: rkozlowski@post.pl
>My company’s page:
http://coders.center/