The role of Version Control in Software Development
Collaborating and Managing Code with Version Control Systems
I’m back here! This is my first publish in 2023. In this article I’ll be explaining what version control system (VCS) is, it’s usefulness and why you need to learn it right now!
Most of the tech newbies out there sees version control system (VCS) as unneccessary tool to learn, whereas I share my story about how I got affected when I was starting out my career in tech, in one of the articles I published last year. I lose all my beginners projects when I change my operating system(OS), because I fail to push all the projects to Github, despite I learnt it earlier. So let’s dive in…
What is Version Control System
A version control system (VCS) allows multiple users to work on a project simultaneously without interfering with each other's changes. It also keeps track of all changes made to the project, making it easy to revert to a previous version if necessary. In addition, a VCS can be used to collaborate on code, share changes, and review code changes. This makes it an essential tool for software development, as it allows for more efficient and effective collaboration among team members. Some version control system we have is Git, Subversion (SVN), Mercurial, Perforce, Apache Cassandra, Team Foundation Server (TFS), Basaar, Bitbucket etc.. In this article I’ll focusing more on git.
What is Git?
Git is a version control system that allows developers to keep track of changes made to their code. With git, developers can save different versions of their code, revert back to previous versions if needed, and collaborate with other developers on a project. Git was created by Linus Torvalds in 2005 and is now maintained by the Git Project.
Some basic Git commands:
git init
: This command is used to initialize a new Git repository.git clone
: This command is used to create a copy of a remote repository on your local machine.git status
: This command shows the current status of your repository, including which files have been modified and are ready to be committed.git add
: This command stages changes to a file, which means that they are prepared to be committed.git commit
: This command saves a snapshot of your changes to the repository's history. It should be used with a message describing the changes made.git push
: This command is used to upload your local commits to a remote repository.git pull
: This command is used to download and merge the changes from a remote repository with your local repository.git log
: This command shows the commit history of your repository.git diff
: This command shows the difference between the current state of the repository and the last commit made.
As we have version control system(VCS) we also have source code management (SCM) tools. Source code management (SCM) is the practice of tracking and controlling changes to source code. This is typically done using a version control system (VCS) software, such as Git, Mercurial, or Subversion, which allows developers to collaborate on code, keep track of different versions, and revert to previous versions if needed. Source code management (SCM) is a key aspect of software development and is essential for maintaining the integrity and traceability of code as it is developed, tested, and deployed. As we have many source code management (SCM) tools, I’ll be using Github and Gitlab in this article.
What is Github?
Github is a platform built on top of Git that allows developers to store their code remotely, share it with others, and collaborate on projects. On GitHub, developers can create "repositories" or "repos" be it public or private, which are like folders that contain all the files and history for a project.
Users can fork other peoples' public repos, make changes to their own copy and then create pull request to the original repository. This allows for easy collaboration on open-source projects or for people to contribute to a project they don't own.
Additionally, GitHub provides a web-based interface that makes it easy to view, edit, and manage code, as well as tools for code review, bug tracking, and project management.
What is Gitlab?
GitLab is a web-based Git repository manager that provides source code management (SCM), continuous integration, and more. It is similar to GitHub in that it is a platform for hosting and collaborating on software projects, but it is run on your own servers and can be self-hosted. GitLab provides a wide range of tools for software development teams, including issue tracking, project management, code review, and more. It is an open-source project that was started in 2011 and is now used by thousands of organizations around the world.
Important of Version Control System
Collaboration: A version control system allows multiple users to work on a project simultaneously without interfering with each other's changes. This makes it easy for teams to collaborate on code and share changes.
Version history: A VCS keeps track of all changes made to the project, making it easy to revert to a previous version if necessary. This is especially useful for debugging and troubleshooting.
Branching and merging: VCS allows for efficient branching and merging of code, making it easy for developers to work on different features or fix bugs without affecting the main codebase.
Code review: VCS allows for easy code review, which helps to ensure that the code is of high quality and follows established coding standards.
Backup and disaster recovery: A VCS serves as a backup for all the code, which can be recovered in case of any disaster.
Usefulness of Version Control System in Software Development
Version control systems (VCS) are essential tools in software development. They provide a way for developers to track changes to the code over time, collaborate with other developers, and manage different versions of the software. Some of the key benefits of using a VCS include:
Tracking changes: A VCS allows developers to keep track of all the changes made to the codebase over time. This makes it easy to see who made a particular change, when it was made, and why.
Collaboration: A VCS makes it easy for multiple developers to work on the same codebase simultaneously. Each developer can make their own changes, and the VCS will automatically merge those changes together.
Reverting changes: If something goes wrong with the code, a VCS allows developers to easily revert back to a previous version of the code.
Branching: A VCS allows developers to create branches, which is a copy of the codebase that can be worked on independently from the main codebase. This allows developers to work on new features or bug fixes without affecting the main codebase.
Versioning: A VCS allows developers to version the software, which means the developers can keep track of different versions of the software, and easily switch between them.
In conclusion, a VCS provides a powerful set of tools for managing the development of software, and it is considered best practice to use a VCS for software development projects.
Follow this guide to install Git on your PC: Link
Follow this link to create your Github account => Link
Follow this link to create your Gitlab account => Link
Learn Git & Github here => Link [ Recommended ]
Check out this link for more resources => Link
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