Autor: Codenga 05.01.2023

A version control system is a tool that keeps track of the changes you make in your files. It allows you to:

• see what exactly has been changed in the files;
• go back to the previous version of the file;
• track and combine edits made by multiple persons in the same file.

Version control systems are vital while working on programming projects. Without them, it would be extremely difficult to keep up with all the changes happening in the code. The systems especially come in handy if there's more than one person working on the project at hand. Just imagine the chaos that would ensue if every programmer could overwrite or delete any changes made by others.

Version control systems are also useful if you work alone. How many times have you wanted to rollback some changes you made in a particular file, or check when an edit has been made exactly, or… If you have a version control system tracking your project, all of the mentioned things are a few clicks away. You’d have 100% control over all changes happening in the project, and even to roll them back, whenever.

How it works

There are different version control systems and they all have their own way of working. Some only track the changes made on your local computer. Others put all your changes through a central server. It allows teamwork while working on the code - every programmer that has access to the server, can make edits to the files.

There are also systems that are “distributed”. They give any authorized person the access to the entirety of the project, without the need for using a central server.

Git - the most popular version control system

Git is an incredibly well-known version control system, and it is often a requirement to know your way around it when applying for a job in a programming team.

Git has many advantages - it’s fast, it allows for work without a central server and makes working with big projects effective and easy. Git has its uses both in smaller, single-developer projects and big, complex ones engaging hundreds of people.

Another advantage is that Git is available for use on all popular operating systems :)

Other systems

On top of all that, you might come across some other version control systems, like Mercurial, CVS, SVN etc. They may not be as popular as Git is, but there are still projects here and there that utilize them. For beginners we would still recommend starting out with Git though.

A key skill set

The ability to proficiently use version control systems is one of the fundamental skills every programmer should have. Today knowing at least one system’s basics is essential - it would be hard to find a project that doesn't in any way utilize some kind of version control system. If you plan on seriously pursuing a programming career, the time to start learning is now - and as we've already mentioned it’s best to start with Git as it’s the most popular of the bunch.

Do you want to learn the most important techniques in working with Git? Here’s just a course for you - all the basics, from scratch :)