Project files into VCS or not?

Question

In our company we have a discussion whether to put project files into our Version Control System. What do you think? Consider an Eclipse project file for a C project that contain source and make files and other things. Would you put it into VCS?

Answer 1

If the project files meet the following criteria:

1. They only contain information for building the source quickly, checkout, commit and the basic routines (for developers)
2. Parts maybe for release can be separated from internal only (if you are a FOSS project or proprietary, for example)
3. They don't change anyone's IDE setup or personal preferences
4. They can be treated like source code for internal-only releases, and may have their own bugs and patches

I don't see a major reason why not. Makefiles/autotools defs usually go in the RCS (autotools inputs at least). Providing the data stored is relevant to all, and their machines (build output directories ...) give it a go