Version Control: Important for Individual Projects?

Introduction 

One of the first things we have learnt is to use version control with everything, especially if it is a big project. Using online repositories can put your mind at ease that your work is backed up but there are far greater advantages to using version control than that. Organizing through the iterations of software development is extremely important for many reasons. The merits of version control will be discussed however there may be times when these systems could cause some aggravation.

We shall see if some of its best features may not be useful to the individual programmer. Specific technologies will not be discussed but rather the general advantages and disadvantages of such a tool.

 

Summary

Version control refers to a repository of files, which usually stores the source code of a project. It is used to track and record every aspect of the development of software including who has made changes, why they have done so and to what the changes and additions refer to. The overarching purpose of this is to allow multiple users to work on the same project however where this repository is stored and who has access to it is up to the discretion of the owners of the software. The working copy is the most up-to date version of the software or the ‘head’ but previous history and iterations are saved and can be viewed as needed. There are many factors and options when considering which technology to choose since many exist and provide different features. They use different models to store and track changes so the appropriate technology must be chosen depending on the needs of the project.

 

Discussion

There are numerous reasons why version control is used and highly recommended during a software engineering project.

As soon as you introduce more than one developer into the mix, this tool becomes essential to maintaining an organized structure. The team doesn’t even have to work from the same location at this point, as long as they have access to the repository and can communicate with each other, they can all work from the same source code. This also ensures that everyone is consistently up to date with the latest version of the software. These advantages do not apply for an individual developer.

Errors such as accidental overwriting or breaking the code are no longer such a hassle since you can always revert back to older versions where all the information is present and works. If the project had certain deadlines on deployment or on certain features this is also aided with version control. You can work on other aspects and improvements while still keeping a previous working version that you can adopt if needed. This feature is very useful even on an individual project and is a big plus in favor of using such technologies.

Keeping track of who did what can also be quite important when debugging/trying understand what is going on or when creating documentation. It also makes people accountable for the work that they have done. Again, this merit is not advantageous to the lone programmer.

Version control gives you the option to expand your project in the future and engage in possible collaborations with others. Even in smaller projects you can use it to keep happy and sane throughout the project so this is a big plus in favor of this tool.

Sometimes version control can be a pain and can cause some aggravation for those who are using it. This applies heavily when there are many people working on the same part of the code who want to commit both their changes with many conflicts in them. Merging your edits with someone else’s can be very difficult or they can break the code completely, unfortunately there is no way around this. When working alone, all of this irritation simply doesn’t exist.

Another point of stress includes having to learn how to use the tool and setting up the system for version control. This will take time and learning the commands and functions to use the system can be hard. You must use it correctly to avoid messing up the code, however once familiar it will become a lot easier to deal with.

If a third party controls your repository, this can also double up as a back up of your project, definitely advantageous to projects of all sizes.

Personal Experience

During a 3-month internship last summer (2013) I worked for a startup consisting of 4 developers in total. Each was responsible for their own piece of the project and never really touched anyone else’s code. Also, the team sat around the same table every day so communication was easy. We used version control and it was extremely useful for the project management, even though the team was small and never working on the same part of the software. Even though it caused some headaches and took effort to setup and configure, I do not think the project would have been as near of a success without it. This was especially important when one team member was working on a seperate branch; it meant that the rest of the team could easily continue development on an older version of their software.

 

Conclusion

It seems that version control is not completely necessary for the individual programmer since a lot of the reasons why this tool is so useful do not apply in this circumstance, and those that do are not essential. There are nevertheless very useful and will make life a lot easier.

`           I still use version control for all of my larger projects, not that I have yet needed to revisit previous versions of code or review the history, but more to keep the source code organized and backed-up, and keep myself happy whilst working. You do not need version control when working alone but it is highly recommended.

If I had to continue this line of discussion, I would perhaps try to figure out from the set of available tools in the current market, what offers the best features for the individual programmer?

References

[1] Clark, A. Tools for Software Projects. Lecture slides, University of Edinburgh. Feb 2014 [Online]. Available: http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/teaching/courses/sapm/2013-2014/sapm-all.html#/Software_Tools_Lecture_Start

 

[2] Yeates, S. (2005). What Is Version Control? Why Is It Important For Due Diligence?. Available: http://oss-watch.ac.uk/resources/versioncontrol. Last accessed 4th Feb 2014.

 

[3] Nagele, C. (2013). Introduction to Version Control. Available: http://guides.beanstalkapp.com/version-control/intro-to-version-control.html. Last accessed 4th Feb 2014.

 

[4] Stansberry, G. (2008). 7 Version Control Systems Reviewed. Available: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/09/18/the-top-7-open-source-version-control-systems/. Last accessed 10th Feb 2014.