The field of software engineering is a rapidly changing field. When it comes to software, there are no final versions. All applications and codes are always undergoing continuous development. One of the essential aspects of software engineering is version control.
Version control systems are a special type of software development tool designed to help software developers keep track of any changes done on the source code of any specific application.
Usually, any software project is handled by a team of programmers/ developers. Each of them working on a specific aspect of the overall project. These developers need to write and test code for their assigned tasks without affecting the product’s working version. This is where version control comes to help.
In addition to facilitating parallel development of any software project, when a mistake is made in the code, causing it to break, we can use version control to trace the mistake and go back to the latest working version of the code.
As the software we build grows bigger, more complex, and more versatile, the knowledge of version control and how to use it efficiently is one of the essential skills that any software developer needs to obtain and develop.
In this article, we will take a deep dive into the world of version control, what it means, why it is used, and how to get started with it.
Version Control
Version control, as briefly described above, is a tool that helps developers/ programmers tackle some everyday problems, such as: tracking changes in the code, help to maintain the code, and allow them to work on the same source code files without affecting each other’s workflow.
The concept of version control is often facilitated through special kinds of systems called Version Control Systems (VCS). These systems have gone through many developments over recent years. Sometimes, VCSs are referred to as Source Code Management tools (SCM) or Revision Control Systems (RCS).
Perhaps the most popular VCS today that is used by millions of developers and programmers around the world is Git. Other VCS that are in use today include:
- PerForce.
- Beanstalk.
- Apache Subversion.
- AWS CodeCommit.
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