Version control systems play an essential role for developers. First up, they allow developers to safely store successive versions of source code. Besides providing a secure backup of the source code, this type of software lets developers revert back to a stable release if subsequent code changes have unforeseen consequences.
Equally important, revision control tools enable team members to work simultaneously on a project’s code. If you have ever collaborated with other people on a project, you will appreciate the frustration caused by swapping files. Revision control is an excellent way to combat the problem of sharing files between developers without treading on each other’s toes. For open source projects having tens/hundreds of people working on the same code base, revision control software is essential.
Furthermore, version control systems make it possible to create a new branch of the application source code, and work on that branch without affecting the stability of the original version.
Here’s our recommended version control software. They are free and open source with Windows support.
| Revision Control Tools | |
| Bazaar | Version control system that helps you track project history over time |
| Mercurial | Distributed source control management tool |
| Subversion | Apache's enterprise-class centralized version control for the masses |
| Git | Easy to learn and has a tiny footprint with lightning fast performance |
| Darcs | Offers a very different approach: focus on changes rather than snapshots |
| Monotone | Simple, single-file transactional version store |
| CVS | Production quality system in wide use around the world |
| Are you interested in learning the art of programming? There are lots of excellent free and open source programming books that teach you how to program in every popular programming language. Read these Free Books. |
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