Software Development Solutions - Source-Control & Version-Control Systems
Intersoft Development is a Cleveland Database Developer, Consulting, and Software Development
company offering specialists in Version Control Systems!
Are you considering Source Control / Versioning solution, or do you need to learn a bit more about what such systems are and what they offer you? You'll find valuable information here that, we hope, gets you started in the right direction.
If you are a programmer, database developer, web designer, or someone else that works with Software Source Code or related files, please consider a Version Control System for your Source Code and other valuable data assets that change regularly. Especially consider this if you work in a team of developers, or manage such a team. Regardless of whether you develop software in a corporate setting for in-house applications, or whether you develop software for public sale, a Version Control System can save you from many a peril.
Have you or someone on your software development team ever...:
- ...lost or misplaced an important file?
- ...discovered multiple versions of the same file, in varying states of change, in multiple locations (directories / servers), with no way to figure out which one is "correct" or "current"?
- ...needed access to a file another developer was working on, but couldn't get to it?
- ...had the only copy of your source code on a machine that was stolen, lost, or otherwise inaccessible?
- ...found copies, and copies of copies, of a source file all over the place as some homegrown "backup strategy"?
- ...been unable to produce an audit-trail of changes to files?
- ...encountered changes that "broke" a system, without knowing why it happened or who caused it?
- ...had a hard time seeing what changed between versions over time?
- ...been working at home and needed access to source code history?
- ...found it nearly impossible to add a new team member to a project since the "code" is all on one machine or controlled by one developer?
- ...and so on.
You have undoubtedly encountered some of these issues unless you have a solid Version Control / Source Control solution and strategy in place. You no longer have to live with these issues that arise from: a lack of proper source-control, dependence on manual copy / backup strategies, and reliance on "that's how we do it and it's worked thus far".
Consider the following advantages that Version Control Systems offer; all which lead to improved efficiency and productivity in your software development activities:
- Easy access to current and past versions of files and projects;
- Powerful "differencing" operations to obviate changes between files;
- Documented audit trail of changes, including who changed what and when;
- Labeling Releases, even all files in a project, quickly;
- Branching / Forking, and Merging operations (especially powerful features when used in conjunction with Concurrent Checkout/Editing/Checkin capabilities);
- Removal of dependency on developers making copies / backups manually;
- Easily add new members to a team and control who has access to what files (very helpful when you also use external resources, such as consultants and contractors, to augment your staff);
- Centralized storage of software source code assets and management of access to these assets;
- Promotion of code-reuse throughout your organization;
- Secure HTTP / Web access to source code;
- And much more...!
Some popular Version Control solutions include:
- Microsoft Visual SourceSafe (VSS);
- BZR / "Bazaar" (Freeware / Open-Source) DVCS System;
- SubVersion (Freeware / Open-Source);
- SourceGear Vault (free single-user version available);
- Various Hosted Solutions (using BZR / SubVersion) - we can deploy BZR Distributed Version Control System on essentially ANY web-server / web hosting provider;
Depending on the size of your development team, and / or the size of the software products you develop, one or more of the above solutions may be a fit for you. Each has its merits for particular reasons, and some offer more functionality with additional implementation and administration complexity. All offer either or both a Concurrency model, or Lock-Modify-Unlock model for versioning. Many IDE's (Integrated Development Environments) offer tight integration with source control repositories. There are even extensions to File-Explorer that make version control features easily available to the entire file-system.
Version Control technology is an integral and a valuable component of our overall Software Development capabilities.
Contact us now to discuss how we can improve your software development processes and your productivity. We can implement a version control solution that is right for you, train you and your staff, and help integrate a proper version control strategy throughout your organization.
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