The best tools for code source control

Version control is particularly important if you have multiple software developers on a project

Version control or source code control is essential to track the changes made to code. This is especially useful when problems pop up when there is more than one developer working on or changing source coding. Using version control allows developers to track back through the changes and revert to a previous version.

Source code management allows multiple developers working on a project to separate their work using branches that shows who makes what changes. You can view work history, use and manage code and revert to previous versions.

Software used to control versions saves changes in one place so if you make a mistake you can undo it or track back to find where another developer has made a mistake to resolve it.

There are many software version control tools available and you should choose the one that works best for you and your company.

Here are some of the best tools on the market.

Git

Git takes a different approach than CVS or SVN and is a distributed version control system that is fast and efficient. It is open source software that is free and has an easy to use interface. 

Designed to operate on the Linus kernel, it does not have a central server so may not suit individual developers or small teams if using a non-repository computer. There are workarounds for this but it may slow you down.

Benefits of GIT include:

• supports multiple workflows
• has cheap local branching
• convenient staging areas
• data assurance
• full history tree available when working offline
• is a distributed, peer-to-peer model.

GitHub

GitHub was specifically built for developers to control code versions and is a web-based Git repository. It is open source software you can use in the cloud or on a private server, and improves team collaboration

It has Git’s functionality for source code management and distributed revision control but GitHub has a different set of features and functionalities.

GitHub benefits include:

• built in code review tools
• protected branches
• track changes to code
• task management
• multiple workflows
• local branching
• mobile integration
• feature requests
• signed commits
• access authentication and granular permissions using SAML/SSO an LDAP
• limit access to only team members who need it
• convenient staging areas
• changes and new code have high visibility as they are highlighted to make it easy to compare versions side-by-side
• wikis for hosting documentation for your repository, which makes it simple for other developers to access to contribute to the project. 

GitLab

GitLab “is a single application developed for the entire DevOps lifecycle from project planning and source code management up to CI/CD monitoring.” It has a lot of useful features such as a project website and you can use it either on the cloud or on your own server.

Benefits of GitLab include:

• it reduces manual work
• automatically links stages and silos when you make changes
• audit management
• sand continuous delivery
• repository mirroring for access to repositories on a different server
• unit testing
• source code management
• cycle analytics
• code review for line-by-line evaluation
• allows teams of developers to work together from remote locations
• deploys more often for better-quality code that is more predictable and is easier to troubleshoot.

Beanstalk

Beanstalk is browser or cloud-based which makes it ideal for developers working remotely. It allows developers to write; review; commit; and deploy code using a web browser. You can also add files, edit and create branches.

It is customizable and has deployments in many environments so you can move code to individual or multiple servers at the same time.

Benefits of Beanstalk include:

• it supports Git and SVN
• built-in analytics
• branch level permissions for teams and individual developers
• uses two-level encryption for security
• built-in integrations
• uses releases to let team members know what changes are made and when
• integrates with messaging platforms and email.