Introduction
In the previous article, we learnt what a version control system is, its primary features and its many benefits. In this article, we are going to dive a little more deeper into the concept of the version control system. We are going to learn about the various versions and types of the version control system. There are many different version control systems available. For example, we have:
- Subversion
- Perforce
- AWS Code Commit
- Mercurial and
- Git, to name a few.
Types of Version Control System
Version control system can be split into two types or categories. They are:
- Centralized Version Control System.
- Distributed Version Control System.
Both are quite similar but they also have some few differences that set them apart from each other. Let’s now discuss each one in more detail.
Centralized Version Control System
The CVCS acronym for Centralized Version Control System controls a server and a client. The server contains the main repository that houses the full history of versions of the code base. Developers working on a project using a centralized version control system needs to pull down the code from the server to their local machine. This gives the user their own working copy of the code base. The server holds the full history of changes meaning the client has the latest code but every operation needs to have a connection to the server itself.
In a centralized version control system, the server is the central copy of the project. After making changes to the code, the developer needs to push the changes to the central server so that other developers can see them which means viewing the history of changes requires that you are connected to the server in order to retrieve and view them.
Distributed Version Control System
The DVCS acronym for Distributed Version Control System is actually very similar to the centralized version control system. You still need to pull code down from the server to view the latest changes. The key difference is that every user is essentially a server and not a client. This means that every time you pull down code from the distributed model, you have the entire history of changes on your local system.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The CVCS is more easier to learn than the DVCS which gives it an advantage over DVCS. CVCS also has more access controls than DVCS which is another advantage over DVCS but then there are also disadvantages.
CVCS can be very slow given that you need to establish a connection to the server before you can perform any action whereas with DVCS, you don’t need to be connected to the server to add your changes or view a file’s history. It works as if you are actually connected to the server directly but on your own local machine. You only ever need to connect to the server to pull down the latest changes or to push your own changes. In summary, it essentially allows users to work in an offline state. Speed and performance are also way better in DVCS than CVCS.
Conclusion
In conclusion, version control is a great aid for developers. It promotes team work, efficiency, accountability and on the long run, growth. We now understand the two types of version control available and their advantages and disadvantages and how you can decide which type of version control system aligns with your goals as a developer. My advise there on is to keep up the good work. In a little while, you shall be where you are meant to be in this journey of technology.
