Overview

The inventory application uses a versioning concept based on so-called "revisions" and related to it, a publish/checkout workflow. Based on it, the system keeps track of changes users make and whether those changes can go "live", i.e., be used for travel planning in Discovery and Planner. 

The following inventory objects leverage the revision approach:

• Templates
• Modules
• All products, therefore:
  • Accommodations
  • Stop and transit activities
  • Transfers
  • Transports
  • Rental cars
  • Base services
  • Upsell items

The rest of the article will describe the revision concept using the templates as example. Please note that the concept works the same way for all other inventory objects using revisions.

How does it work? 

A revision is a simple number, starting at 0 and increases with every checkout/publish cycle. The revision is shown in the search results and the URL in the inventory. In the example below, we see template t0026621, revision 1.

Referencing Revisions

Itineraries always reference a specific revision, be it the one of the template used to create the itinerary or products like an inventory transfer that is referenced by an itinerary.

By doing so, we ensure that an itinerary is not affected by sudden changes and price jumps due to work in the inventory.

Creating a New Revision

Creating a new revision is done by performing a checkout on an existing template. The system automatically creates a new revision by adding 1 to the old, latest published revision. The newly created revision will still be in the status "Draft".

This new revision can be discarded without affecting any live data, and only when published this new revision becomes the "main revision" that is active officially.

FAQ

Q: Are revisions also used for live supply coming directly from supplier APIs? 

A: No, the revision concept is only used for the offline supply loaded in the inventory.

Q: Can I delete an older revision?

A: No, this is not possible. However, note that older revisions are not used except by itineraries that already reference it. 

Q: Can I update the referenced revision in an itinerary?

A: While this happens automatically when the itinerary is changed and the planner needs to fetch the latest prices, it can also be enforced. Please find more details here.