Team Foundation Server offers a version control system, but with many more side features, such as bug tracking, user stories, project planning, and it is all integrated into visual studio.
Someone put a more complete list of features over here:
Over the past year I have been working with Mercurial and from the moment I typed “hg init” I was in love. My new colleagues are convinced that even though other scm solutions are probably better, TFS provides a better complete package for teams.
What I would like to know is whether it is better to just use TFS, or to go the open source route and select various solutions and integrate them to get a better result, and if its even possible to get that level of integration?
So in summation: Can it be done and is it better to go for various OSS tools?
6
Sometimes certain software solutions want to do everything and that drives their doom.
Mercurial, Git and others are just focused on being good VCSs, and they are probably the best ones around (mind the advantages that you get from having a distributed version control system).
IMHO, if you want:
- The best bug tracking you go with Jira, Redmine, …
- The best wiki you go with Confluence, dokuwiki, …
- The best agile tool you go with GreenHopper, Agilo, …
- The best DVCS repository management you go with Rhodecode, Stash
- The best online DVCS repository management you go with Bitbucket, Github, …
- The best SCM/VCS you go with Mercurial, Git, …
It is harder to find one thing that gets all things right than all the right things.
And BTW, as a SCM/VCS, Mercurial is undoubtedly a better tool than TFS for the sole fact of being distributed (and if you don’t agree, you are ugly and stupid —Linus Torvalds).
Read the following article to finish convincing yourself and your team: http://hginit.com/00.html (Subversion is centralized like TFS)
6
As you know Mercurial is just a small part of a larger puzzle. There are various hosting sites out there that offer many of the other jigsaw pieces eg. Bug tracking, issue management, documentation/wiki, code review etc.
A good free example is bitbucket.com
A good commercial example is FogBugz/Kiln