What is version control
Version control systems are a
category of software tools that help a software team manage changes to source
code over time. Version control software keeps track of every modification to
the code in a special kind of database. If a mistake is made, developers can
turn back the clock and compare earlier versions of the code to help fix the
mistake while minimizing disruption to all team members.
For almost all software projects,
the source code is like the crown jewels - a precious asset whose value must be
protected. For most software teams, the source code is a repository of the
invaluable knowledge and understanding about the problem domain that the
developers have collected and refined through careful effort. Version control
protects source code from both catastrophe and the casual degradation of human
error and unintended consequences.
Software developers working in
teams are continually writing new source code and changing existing source
code. The code for a project, app or software component is typically organized
in a folder structure or "file tree". One developer on the team may
be working on a new feature while another developer fixes an unrelated bug by
changing code, each developer may make their changes in several parts of the
file tree.
Version control helps teams solve
these kinds of problems, tracking every individual change by each contributor
and helping prevent concurrent work from conflicting. Changes made in one part
of the software can be incompatible with those made by another developer
working at the same time. This problem should be discovered and solved in an
orderly manner without blocking the work of the rest of the team. Further, in
all software development, any change can introduce new bugs on its own and new
software can't be trusted until it's tested. So testing and development proceed
together until a new version is ready.
Good version control software
supports a developer's preferred workflow without imposing one particular way
of working. Ideally it also works on any platform, rather than dictate what
operating system or tool chain developers must use. Great version control
systems facilitate a smooth and continuous flow of changes to the code rather
than the frustrating and clumsy mechanism of file locking - giving the green
light to one developer at the expense of blocking the progress of others.
Software teams that do not use
any form of version control often run into problems like not knowing which
changes that have been made are available to users or the creation of
incompatible changes between two unrelated pieces of work that must then be
painstakingly untangled and reworked. If you're a developer who has never used
version control you may have added versions to your files, perhaps with
suffixes like "final" or "latest" and then had to later
deal with a new final version. Perhaps you've commented out code blocks because
you want to disable certain functionality without deleting the code, fearing
that there may be a use for it later. Version control is a way out of these
problems.
Version control software is an
essential part of the every-day of the modern software team's professional
practices. Individual software developers who are accustomed to working with a
capable version control system in their teams typically recognize the
incredible value version control also gives them even on small solo projects.
Once accustomed to the powerful benefits of version control systems, many developers
wouldn't consider working without it even for non-software projects.
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