2 | Introducing Version Control
Introduction
This chapter will cover the basic concepts of version control, using illustrative
examples. This book draws attention to the facets that make up version control, thus
encompassing tracking of code base changes, how to host a code base to support
remote access, managing contributors and contributions, and best practices to adhere
to. By implementing version control, the creation and enforcement of team-driven
checks and controls for introduction, scrutiny, approval, merging, and the reversal of
changes, when the occasion necessitates, can be realized.
Version control alludes to the tracking and traceability of changes. It is, in a way, akin
to the use of a bookmark, to mark the point to return to when the reader wants to
continue reading. In version control, this metaphorical bookmark marks a reference to a
snapshot of the code base. This snapshot indicates the state of the product or the code
base at a given point.
To appreciate version control and—more so—Git, we need to consider what nature
software development takes when it's void of version control and, by extension,
distributed version control that's provided by Git.
In the case of development without employing version control, the handling of code and
making changes to the same code translates to a chaotic environment where changes
to a code base are uncoordinated. No information exists to track changes to a le, apart
from the metadata that is offered by the operating system that you are working from,
and an archiving approach where le naming is used to refer to different snapshots of a
code base.
The result of this is derailed and delayed changes. This is due to the overhead of
requiring the development team to constantly physically investigate les to integrate
changes successfully, as well as the resources spent in rectifying incorrect integrations
that result in unintended and unforeseen bugs in the production environment.
Dening Version Control
Version control is aimed at supporting the tracking of changes to a le, that is, the
reversal of changes made to a le and the annotation of changes introduced to a code
base. Prior to the inception of version control software, version control itself took an
approach that was contrived and agreed upon by a team of developers working on a
code base.
To introduce and roll out a change to a product, a developer would, for instance,
retrieve an archived version corresponding to the version in the production
environment. They would proceed to make and test the change. To deploy the new
version, a version number would be assigned to the release, and notes detailing a
change would be annotated alongside the release. To revert changes, you would be
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