Introduction
As software developers, we constantly work on creating, modifying, and testing code. It's crucial for us to keep track of all these changes, so we can always roll back to previous versions if needed. This is where version control systems come into play. Git is one of the most widely used version control systems in the world today. In this article, we'll cover what Git is, what you can do with Git, the different types of version control systems, and the history of Git.
What is Git?
Git is a free, open-source, distributed version control system that allows developers to track and manage changes to code. It was created in 2005 by Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux operating system. Git is known for its speed, reliability, and flexibility. It's used by millions of developers around the world, including some of the biggest tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft.
Things You Can Do with Git
Git has a lot of powerful features that help developers to work together more efficiently. Here are some of the things you can do with Git:
Track Changes - Git allows you to track changes to your code over time. This means you can easily roll back to a previous version of your code if something goes wrong.
Collaboration - Git allows multiple developers to work on the same project at the same time. It also makes it easy to merge changes made by different developers.
Branching - Git allows you to create branches in your code. This means you can work on new features or bug fixes without affecting the main codebase.
Revert Changes - Git makes it easy to revert changes that you don't want. You can also revert changes made by other developers.
Types of Version Control System
There are three types of version control system:
Local VCS - This type of VCS stores the version history on your local machine. The main drawback of local VCS is that it's not suitable for collaboration between multiple developers. If you want to work with others, you need to share your codebase manually, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.
Centralized VCS - This type of VCS stores the version history on a central server. Developers must connect to the server to access the codebase. The main drawback of this type of VCS is that it can be slow, especially when multiple developers are working on the same codebase. And if the server gets down or data gets corrupted in the server due to any reason then the whole data will be lost. Basically, everything is dependent on the central server in this VCS.
Distributed VCS - This type of VCS stores the version history on each developer's local machine. Developers can work independently and share changes with each other.
History of Git
Before Git, the Linux community used a proprietary version control system called BitKeeper. In 2005, BitKeeper was no longer free for the Linux community to use, which caused a fallout. Linus Torvalds, who was using BitKeeper at the time, decided to create his own version control system. He wanted a system that was fast, reliable, and flexible. Git was designed to be decentralized, which means that each developer has their own copy of the codebase. This makes it easy for developers to work independently and collaborate with each other.
Snapshots
Git stores changes to your code as snapshots. This means that every time you commit changes, Git takes a snapshot of your code at that moment in time. Git stores data in SHA-1 format, which is a 40-character string composed of hexadecimal numbers (0-9) and (a-f) which is calculated based on the contents of the file or directory structure. This makes it easy to roll back to previous versions of your code if something goes wrong.
How Git is Different and Better from Other Version Control Systems:
Other VCS's:
Git:
Git has a lot of advantages over other version control systems. Here are some of the reasons why developers prefer Git:
Speed - Git is much faster than other version control systems. It's designed to handle large codebases with thousands of files and millions of lines of code.
Distributed - Git is a distributed version control system, which means that each developer has a complete copy of the codebase. This makes it easy for developers to work offline and collaborate with each other.
Branching and Merging - Git has powerful branching and merging capabilities. Developers can work on new features or bug fixes without affecting the main codebase. It's easy to merge changes made by different developers, which makes it easy to collaborate.
Open Source - Git is open-source software, which means that anyone can contribute to the development of the software. This has led to a large community of developers who have created tools and extensions to make Git even more powerful.
Security - Git has built-in security features that make it easy to protect your codebase. You can restrict access to certain files or folders, and you can track who made changes to your code.
Conclusion
Git is an essential tool for software developers. It allows developers to track changes to code, collaborate with others, and work on new features or bug fixes without affecting the main codebase. Git is fast, reliable, and flexible, and it's used by millions of developers around the world. While there are drawbacks to different types of version control systems, Git has a lot of advantages that make it the preferred choice for many developers.
Before wrapping up, I would like to give a special shout-out to @apoorvtwts, whose YouTube channel has been a great source of knowledge on Git and many other topics related to software development. I highly recommend checking out his channel for more amazing content.
If you enjoyed this article and want to be a part of this amazing journey, don't forget to follow me on Twitter for more content like this!
“Talk is cheap. Show me the code.”
― Linus Torvalds