Distributed version control: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 03:40, 5 March 2025

Revision as of 22:20, 17 March 2025

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{{Short description|Software engineering tool}}

[[File:Git session.svg|thumb|The process of initializing a git repository. Git is one of the most popularly used distributed version control software.]]

In [[software development]], '''distributed version control''' (also known as '''distributed revision control''') is a form of [[version control]] in which the complete [[codebase]], including its full history, is mirrored on every developer's computer.<ref name="git-scm">{{cite book | chapter = About version control | chapter-url = https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-About-Version-Control | title = Pro Git | first1 = Scott | last1 = Chacon | first2 = Ben | last2 = Straub | edition = 2nd | date = 2014 | publisher = Apress | at = Chapter 1.1 | access-date = 4 June 2019}}</ref> Compared to '''centralized version control''' (cf. [[monorepo]]), this enables automatic management [[Branching (version control)|branching]] and [[Merge (version control)|merging]], speeds up most operations (except pushing and fetching), improves the ability to work offline, and does not rely on a single ___location for backups.<ref name="git-scm"/><ref name="Joel 2010" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Intro to Distributed Version Control (Illustrated)|url=https://betterexplained.com/articles/intro-to-distributed-version-control-illustrated/|website=www.betterexplained.com|access-date=7 January 2018}}</ref> [[Git (software)|Git]], the world's most popular version control system,<ref name=":1" /> is a distributed version control system.

In 2010, software development author [[Joel Spolsky]] described distributed version control systems as "possibly the biggest advance in software development technology in the [past] ten years".<ref name="Joel 2010">{{cite web