What is Version Control?
Version control, also known as source control, is the practice of tracking and managing changes to a set of files over time. It’s essentially a system that records changes to a file or set of files over time so that you can recall specific versions later. While primarily used for software code, it can be applied to any type of file.
Benefits:
- Collaboration: Multiple people can work on the same project simultaneously without overwriting each other’s changes.
- Error recovery: Easily revert to previous versions if mistakes are made.
- Tracking changes: See who made what changes and when.
- Experimentation: Safely try new ideas without affecting the main project.
- Backup and restore: Create regular backups and easily restore files to a previous state.
Use Cases:
- Software development: Tracking changes to code, collaborating on projects and managing different versions.
- Document management: Managing different versions of documents, such as reports or presentations.
- Content management: Tracking changes to website content or marketing materials.
Key Components:
- Repository: A central location where all file versions are stored.
- Commit: Saving changes to the repository.
- Branch: Creating separate lines of development for different features or experiments.
- Merge: Combining changes from different branches into one.
- Rollback: Reverting to a previous version of a file or the entire project.
