Why Version Control Exists: The Pendrive Problem
Why Version Control Exists
The Pendrive Analogy in Software Development
Problems Faced Before Version Control Systems
The topic itself illustrates the meaning! Pendrive Analogy
Earlier, programmers used portable storage devices like pendrives to share individual code or programs with others for review or optimization. In these cases, any modifications, changes, or additions made by other programmers were sent back to the original programmer. The problem was that it became impossible to track which code files were updated, changed, or removed by the reviewers. There was also no way to know who added new lines of code or which features were added by whom (collaboration history). One major issue was that if a reviewer found something wrong after sending the updated code back, they had to inform the original programmer, who would then update the code again. This process was very time-consuming and inefficient.
So what are the problems faced before the Version Control Systems!
Collaboration history was missing.
No way to track which files were updated, changed, or removed.
There was no single source of TRUTH (reference).
Understand with Flow Diagram
Everything looks fine till now.
Now which file gets changed? what new lines of code gets added? Original programmar has no idea right now.
Hmm? What? Which section or file was added by whom? No idea!!!!
So, Why Version Control Exists?
To solve all these problems, version control were introduced.
The key point to notice here is the Source of Truth and the Tracker. We replaced the pendrive with the Tracker and set up a remote server so everyone can connect directly. The Source of Truth holds the reference to your original content and can be accessed by other programmers who have permission. Changes are tracked by the Tracker, which we call Version Control. This helps keep track of collaboration history, file changes or removals, and other important details.
Conclusion
It's very important to understand the technology we use today, not just the commands, but also the knowledge of what happens behind the scenes.
