What is Version Control?
Version control, also known as source control, is the practice of tracking and managing changes to software code. Version control systems (VCS) are essential tools that help software teams, including those working in office environments and using platforms like Office 365, manage these changes efficiently. As development environments accelerate, VCS enables software teams, especially DevOps teams, to work faster and smarter, reducing development time and increasing successful deployments.
How Version Control Works
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 changes in several parts of the file tree.
Version control helps teams solve these kinds of problems by 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 simultaneously. 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.
Benefits of Version Control Systems
- A Complete Long-term Change History of Every File: This includes every change made by many individuals over the years, such as the creation and deletion of files, edits to their contents, and notes on the purpose of each change. This history is crucial for root cause analysis and fixing problems in older software versions.
- Branching and Merging: VCS tools allow team members to work concurrently and enable individuals to work on independent streams of changes. Creating a “branch” in VCS tools keeps multiple streams of work independent from each other while also providing the facility to merge that work back together, ensuring changes on each branch do not conflict.
- Traceability: Being able to trace each change made to the software and connect it to project management and bug tracking software (such as Jira), and annotate each change with a message describing its purpose, aids in root cause analysis and other forensics. This traceability helps developers understand the code, make harmonious changes, and estimate future work accurately.
What is Version Control
Popular Version Control Systems
One of the most popular VCS tools today is Git. Git is a Distributed VCS (DVCS), which means it allows for multiple developers to work on a project simultaneously without affecting each other’s work. Git is free, open source, and widely used in the industry for its robust features and flexibility.
Version control software supports developers’ preferred workflows without imposing one particular way of working. Ideally, it works on any platform, rather than dictating what operating system or toolchain developers must use. Great version control systems facilitate a smooth and continuous flow of changes to the code rather than the frustrating mechanism of file locking.
In conclusion, using version control software is a best practice for high-performing software and DevOps teams. It helps developers move faster and allows software teams to maintain efficiency and agility as they scale. Whether for small solo projects, large team efforts, or office environments using platforms like Office 365, the benefits of version control are indispensable, making it an essential part of modern software development practices.
