Top 10 Version Control Systems

Last Updated on 2024-10-11

Version control makes tracking and controlling changes in software development easier. In this entry, let’s examine ten versioning brands that can help your software projects.

Let’s say you already have your development team for your software project. But, as a project owner, you know that it is not the end of the process. Remember, the nature of software development involves code changes and lots of versions. Hence, process synchronization is always a top priority.

Aside from synchronization, process collaboration also plays a major role in making your project succeed. These are the reasons why you need version control systems.

So, what is a version control system?

To help aspiring entrepreneurs who are unfamiliar with version control tools, let’s first understand how it works.

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What is a Version Control System?

Regardless of the size of your development team, you will need a version control software. This is because software projects involve collaboration, and code maintenance is quite challenging.

Although version control systems contain the same basic features, it is important to know that choosing the right one depends on your project’s requirements.  Choose a version control software based on your project’s complexity or the size of your team. 

A version control system is part of modern software development. It provides several techniques to track and control file modifications. Additionally, it facilitates the management of the project’s centralized repository, file storage, documents, and other project-related information.

Here are the basic considerations to look into before using or purchasing a version control system:

1. Version control type – assess your project, whether you’ll use commercial or open-source version control.
2. Users – check the maximum number of users per account. Is the version system scalable?
3. Storage – determine the available storage space. Is it capable of catering from a simple website to a complex Software-as-a-Service(SaaS)?
4. Multiple projects – are you planning on deploying multiple projects? Check the number of projects allowed per account.
5. Features – check the availability of additional tools such as bug trackers, time tracking, documentation, etc. Although these are available for every package, ensure that you know the inclusions and limitations when using free or limited versions.

Best Version Control Systems

It is difficult to look for the right tools to use in software development. Therefore, here are ten version control software to narrow down your choices.

1. GitHub

GitHub is a version control system and repository to host Git projects. If you’re wondering what Git is, it is an open-source version control system authored by Linus Torvalds. Yes, the man behind Linux. 

Github is known as the “social media” for software developers. But above all, it helps software teams collaborate and maintain the entire history of code changes.

Strengths:

• Provides code review that is available in a private cloud with GitHub Enterprise or on-premise deployment
• Uses GitHub Marketplace to look for integrations and tools needed to improve your development process further
• Offers a secured environment through signed commits, required status checks, and protected branches to maintain high-standard coding practices
• Enhances collaboration through code review tools where members can discuss implementation details before applying code changes
• Provides high visibility for all the code parts that are new, edited, or deleted. These are all highlighted to spot changes easily and compare versions of code side by side. 

2. Gitlab

If your project requires continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD), then GitLab is for you. It is a version control software built for the DevOps lifecycle. Meaning, your projects are quite complex, and it involves cloud engineering and the like.

Gitlab provides basic features such as view code, pull requests, and merged resolution.

Strengths:

• Improves productivity by cutting down the DevOps cycle time, reducing manual work, and connecting silos and stages
• Provides audit management, cycle analytics, issue board and trackers, source code management, unit testing, and continuous delivery
• Lowers development risks through frequent deployments that will lead to better predictability, easier troubleshooting, and better code quality
• Defies geographical barriers as distributed, and remote teams can work on the latest version of the code and stay current.

3. Beanstalk

For projects that involve outsourcing, Beanstalk is an ideal option. This version control software uses browser and cloud. It allows users to code, commit, review, and deploy using a browser. For ease of use, you can integrate it with any messaging or email platform for efficient collaborations.

It is an enterprise-class secured infrastructure, with high performance, and reliability. This is ideal for startups businesses.

Strengths:

• Provides robust encryption, two-factor authentication, and password protection functionalities
• Caters to any team size, and can provide a repository and branch-level permissions for teams and individuals
• Allows team members are well-informed throughout the deployment because of its release notes feature.

4. HelixCore

HelixCore offers seamless team collaboration and support for both centralized and distributed development workflows. It is available on both cloud and on-premise deployments, making it scalable. 

Strengths: 

• Provides workflow freedom where members can work remotely but have total control by setting granular file-level permissions
• Supports multi-factor authentication and other security features to secure your intellectual property
• Offers a DevOps-ready environment for continuous integration and scalability.

5. Apache Subversion

Apache Subversion (also known as Subversion or SVN)  is an open-source version control system under the Apache license.

Its key features include inventory management, security management, history tracking, user access controls, data recovery, and workflow management. SVN is easy to implement with any programming language. Plus, it offers consistent storage for handling text and binary files.

Strengths:

• Creates directories as first-class objects similar to files
• Offers easy branching and tagging
• Provides effective flow management with automated tracking of merges.

6. AWS CodeCommit

If you are building a project using AWS, then AWS CodeCommit is for you. It can host secure and scalable private Git repositories. You can seamlessly connect with other products from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and host the code in secured AWS environments.

Strengths:

• Offers efficient code collaboration with its full support for pull requests; its users can easily comment and review code changes before merging them into branches
• Provides robust integrations with Identity Access Management(IAM), other AWS services, and third-party services 
• Offers a secure repository for your project documents and source code in the cloud.

7. Microsoft Team Foundation Server

Team Foundation Server is an enterprise-grade tool to help project development. It manages source code, tracks and monitors workflows, and ships software. It works with known programming languages and helps accelerate production through its additional features (Team Build, Team Project Portal, Team Foundation Shared Services, etc.).

Strengths:

• Offers a flexible and distributed version control system
• Provides a secured and centralized version control for workflows and code management
• Enables quick reviewing and merging of code in a Git team project through the pull request method.

8. Mercurial

Mercurial is a free and distributed version control software known for its efficiency. It can cater to projects of different sizes. And developers love its simple and intuitive user interface

Strengths:

• Provides a robust backup system, search functionality, project tracking, and management
• Offers data import, export, and migration tools
• Features robust workflow management, including history tracking, security management, and more.

9. Concurrent Versions System (CVS)

Commercial and open-source developers use CVS. Why? It is one of the oldest version control systems. It is a sophisticated version control software and continues to improve its capabilities.

Strengths:

• Maps out components and modules in larger software projects
• Caters to multiple developers working simultaneously on a project
• Enforces site-specific policies to provide secured operations.

10. Bitbucket

If you are working with projects using Atlassian tools, consider using Bitbucket. It offers code branching, in-line commenting and discussions, and pull requests.

Strengths:

• Works with a local server, data center, and on the cloud
• Integrates with other Atlassian products such as Jira; it lets you create branches directly from the Jira board
• Offers built-in continuous integration and continuous delivery.

Works with a local server, data center, and on the cloud

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We can Help you Build your Team of Software Developers!

When choosing the right document version control software that suits your business, ensure that the system can fully support all your development needs.

At Full Scale, we believe that collaboration among team members is vital to delivering a good product. We know the right version control tools, and we don’t want our clients to be left behind.

Full Scale can help you build your software, help your business scale, and assess you with the right development tools. Do you want to know more about our Guided Development and recommendations? Have a FREE consultation!