In case you haven't heard, Dimensions 2009 R1 became generally available a couple of days ago (31 May, 2009). It is available for download from Serena Support web site. It was a much anticipated release with improved developer usability and productivity as its core theme. I highly recommend you to download it and give it a test drive. Start by taking a look at the readme document as it gives you a good high-level overview of the new features.

This latest release in fact offers a lot of new features spanning a multitude of different functional areas, most notably: a seamless integration with Serena IDM (Issue & Defect Management) that does not require data synchronisation, an extensive library of SOAP-based web services for building custom applications and integrating with other tools, URL addressable reports with improved charting capabilities, SVN and CVS migration utilities, and a Stream-based development approach for improved parallel development support.The release also offers additional performance improvement to the project download and sync operations, making it lightening fast for the developers to download code and synchronise their work area changes with the repository.

The 2009 R1 release has made the management of parallel development activities (with multiple active code branches) significantly more intuitive and simpler to manage through the introduction of "Streams". The developers are able to easily branch and merge code streams from within their favourite IDE, be it Eclipse, Visual Studio, or Microsoft Explorer. A subversion-like commandline is also available to allow developers familiar with Subversion to quickly uptake Dimensions. Streams are designed specifically to support the popular "copy – modify – merge" approach to developing code, an approach typically used in agile or iterative style  development, but by no means exclusive to agile.  

Streams provide a number of important features that capture the current best practices in software development:

• Streams enforce a single line of descent, preventing conflicts existing in the  repository and enhancing the reliability of continuous builds
• Developers resolve conflicts, build and test in their local development environment outside of Dimensions, improving reliability and removing the need for complex merges later on
• Changes are committed atomically to the repository, meaning that Developers always get a consistent set of files when updating their work areas from the repository
• Branching and Merging of Streams is simple and intuitive, allowing Developers to  create Streams from within their favorite IDE or user interface

So what are you waiting for? Download the software and give it a try! I promise you it will be worth the effort.