Version Control (revision control or source control) is a way of recording changes to a file or collection of files over time so that you can recall specific versions later. A version control system (or VCS in short) is a tool that records changes to files on a filesystem.
There are many version control systems out there, but Git is currently the most popular and frequently used, especially for source code management. Version control can actually be used for nearly any type of file on a computer, not only source code.
Version control systems/tools offer several features that allow individuals or a group of people to:
- create versions of a project.
- track changes accurately and resolve conflicts.
- merge changes into a common version.
- rollback and undo changes to selected files or an entire project.
- access historical versions of a project to compare changes over time.
- see who last modified something that might be causing a problem.
- create a secure offsite backup of a project.
- use multiple machines to work on a single project and so much more.
A project under a version control system such as Git will have mainly three sections, namely:
- a repository: a database for recording the state of or changes to your project files. It contains all of the necessary Git metadata and objects for the new project. Note that this is normally what is copied when you clone a repository from another computer on a network or remote server.
- a working directory or area: stores a copy of the project files which you can work on (make additions, deletions and other modification actions).
- a staging area: a file (known as index under Git) within the Git directory, that stores information about changes, that you are ready to commit (save the state of a file or set of files) to the repository.
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