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Version control and source control system simplified

Published
2 min read
Version control and source control system simplified

Version control

Version control, also known as source control, revision control, or source code management in software engineering, is a type of system in charge of controlling changes to huge web pages, documents, computer programs, and other informational collections. It is a huge part of software configuration management.

In a sentence, revision control is any kind of practice that tracks and provides control over changes to source code.

Source code

Source code simply known as code is a set of programs written by a programmer in high-level language or plane text understandable to humans. While open source is just source code without a copyright meaning it can be altered by the public.

A source control system or a Source code control system(SCCS) is a kind of system that keeps track of changes made to a file or group of files over time so that you may later refer back to particular versions.

phases in version controls

Examples of version control systems are:

some hosting platforms and software that use version control tools are;

Github https://github.com/

GitLab https://gitlab.com/

Beanstalk https://beanstalkapp.com/

PerForce https://www.perforce.com/

AWS CodeCommit https://aws.amazon.com/codecommit/

Microsoft Team Foundation Server / Azure repo https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/devops/server/

Mercurial https://scm-manager.org

Bitbucket https://bitbucket.org/

A Repository also known as repos are like a database for storage and changes to source codes in version control systems while Branches are like rooms available or created in the repository.

Steps in utilizing a version control hosting software(git as a usecase)

  • Sign in to your account

  • Create a new repository /repo

  • Add a file to your local repo and "commit" (the changes if it’s not the firsts commit)

  • "Push" your changes to your main branch.

  • Make a change to your file with a (could be a git) hosting tool and commit

  • "Pull" the changes to your local machine

  • Make a "branch" and make changes then commit the change(s)

  • Make "pull request" (propose changes to the main branch)

  • "Merge" your branch to the main(or whatever your prior branch was) branch

  • Most version control systems direct you on how to make your commits so have no fear.

Why use a version control system?

  • Thy can serve as storage for source codes

  • When working in a team working from different locations programmers it serves as a way to collaborate and make adjustments

  • Earlier versions of the code can be assessed if need be

Check https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~mernst/advice/version-control.html for more on version control

Reference

https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~mernst/advice/version-control.html

https://www.perforce.com/blog/vcs/what-is-version-control

https://www.perforce.com/blog/vcs/what-source-control#:~:text=These%20two%20terms%20are%20used,binary%20files%20and%20digital%20assets.