{"id":60,"date":"2008-08-11T04:59:41","date_gmt":"2008-08-11T10:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bob-ak.com\/?p=60"},"modified":"2008-08-13T06:09:11","modified_gmt":"2008-08-13T12:09:11","slug":"advantages-of-using-a-version-control-system-vcs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bob-ak.com\/?p=60","title":{"rendered":"Advantages of using a version control system (vcs)"},"content":{"rendered":"

From a discussion on reddit.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A modern version control system has three clear benefits over the “folder backup” method.<\/p>\n

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  1. File space. Let’s say your code changes 10% each week. Under the “folder backup” method, each week you’re saving 100% of the code. Using a proper VCS, you’re only saving 10% of your code. I know hard drive space is cheap, but it’s not free and I never seem to have enough.<\/li>\n
  2. History. The key to VCS, in my opinion, is being able to document your changes in more granular level than a file called “Changelog.txt” that might not get changed whenever you work on your code.<\/li>\n
  3. Bug-location: Let’s say you find a bug in a method. You search the history for that file and let the VCS runs the diffs for you.<\/li>\n
  4. Complete freedom to change code. You don’t have to worry about breaking something, or removing possibly useful code. Before I moved to VCS, I used to comment out old code liberally but keep it ‘cos I might need it. This quickly becomes a PITA.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    That being said, I’ve got some caveats too.<\/p>\n

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    1. You’re still going to want to backup the version control folder<\/li>\n
    2. You’re entrusting your entire code base to a program that may itself be buggy. You’re going to want to make sure (a) it’s reliable (no bleeding edge releases) and (b) you understand how to work it<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Popular systems:<\/p>\n