Your optimal version control system

Of course, without such programs, no Linux distribution could fully develop. The selected tool for the development of a specific project makes it possible to link the work of programmers into a coherent whole. With the help of this tool, any developer can make any change to the program, and the monitoring system will fix this and show the result to everyone else.

Accordingly, the basic principle of the operation of such a tool is simple - registration of any changes in the program code. When adding new files to the application or changing existing ones, a new version of the entire program is created, which makes it very convenient and consistent to view all the modifications of the project. The second major positive factor that the version control system provides is a convenient teamwork.

There are several ways to solve this problem. In the simplest case, one dedicated server is used to locate all project files. After that, all participants save on their computer a local copy of all the data from the server, then make their own changes and synchronize them with the overall project of the server. A similar principle uses the version control system CVS, as well as Subversion.

The second variant of the system design can be the distributed principle (using peer-to-peer technology). In this case, there is no common place for storing data, so each programmer places his copy of the project on his personal machine, which is synchronized with all the others.

Such decentralized approach is quite popular, and it is used, for example, by such an advanced system as Git.

It is worth noting that not only programmers can use management systems, but also those who simply need to download the latest version of the application or manage the documentation.

To date, there are many interesting solutions that allow you to organize a workflow, and each version control system has its own characteristics. Therefore, it is important to be guided by the existing diversity in order to make the best choice for yourself.

CVS

The version control system CVS appeared after the oldest RCS system and was more convenient - less limited multi-user work with the file. It all started with the fact that the creator of this new system Dick Grune originally needed a tool for collaborative development of the C compiler.

This tool uses a client-server model. The server regulates all file changes by clients, blocking it at the time of operation or providing read-only access. All control is not from the command line, but from the original CVS shell. It is installed by default on many Linux-based systems.

Git

Unlike the previous development, the Git version control system is a distributed solution that does not require a dedicated server. The main difference is that if, for example, data is lost from a common project, they can easily be reassembled from the distributed code of the creators, but if they were stored on the server, it happens that this option is not available. Management in the system is relatively simple, so switching to the use of such a tool will not be difficult.