Best Version Control Hosting Software

Version control hosting software hosts multiple code repositories in the cloud, allowing developers to seamlessly collaborate on source code. This also helps them manage a master repository so they can easily merge code changes and continuously update code versions to local computers.

Version control hosting solutions are crucial for software development collaboration—they host tools and systems that enable developers to simultaneously make code changes without causing major problems to a project. This parallel development is accomplished via branching. Branching is the process of duplicating source code and making changes or additions to an isolated section of copy, which is then re-merged with the original source code to update the master repository upon completion. With version control hosting software, multiple developers can work on modifications along multiple branches before merging each branch to the master repository.

Version control hosting software gives businesses an access control list. This allows companies to manage the source code and branch permissions for every developer. For example, a company might want to make all their branches visible to the entire team, but only grant editing permissions to relevant parties. This setup allows teams to remain on the same page by viewing each other’s projects without accidentally making unwanted changes to different projects. Developers can avoid confusion by referring to the cloud-hosted master repository, which serves as the absolute source to determine the true current state of many projects. Once changes are made to a branch, that branch can merge with the master repository to reflect those changes. Version control hosting software saves version history, meaning the master repository can be reverted to previous versions if any code changes need to be reversed.

Key Benefits of Version Control Hosting Software

• Allow developers to seamlessly collaborate on projects
• Create an organized environment for developers to differentiate between projects
• Increase efficiency of a company
• Enable a transparent view of all the projects in-progress at an organization

Version control hosting software handles the essential version control systems that protect developers from making irreversible errors and promote ideal collaboration. There are a handful of reasons to use version control hosting software, may are essentials for the modern developer.

Parallel development — Software development teams rely on version control hosting software to simultaneously change and manage cloud-hosted code repositories. Without version control hosting software, teams would have an extremely difficult time managing code conflicts. There would be many more conflicts due to a lack of visibility, including the inability to stay on the same page.

Preserving good code — Both solo developers and teams benefit from the ability to work on code changes without running the risk of breaking a functioning build. Because developers can make changes to duplicate versions of the master repository, the master repository itself is preserved until changes are finalized. This functionality is akin to an author creating a duplicate document to make edits on—if things go wrong and important work is overwritten, the original copy is unaffected.

Maintaining version history — Version control hosting software maintains a history of each version of the master repository. Each time a branch is merged with the master repository, the previous version is maintained in case developers need to revert to prior builds. This protects teams from making irreversible mistakes in the form of bad code or merge conflicts.

Version control hosting software presents clear benefits for development teams of all sizes thanks to the collaborative functionality achieved through its use. However, even solo developers find themselves relying on software to host version control systems and make development more foolproof.

Software development teams — Software development teams use version control hosting software to organize collaboration and allow parallel development via branching. With version control hosting software, team members can work on separate tasks simultaneously while keeping the master repository intact.

Solo developers — The benefits of version control hosting software extend beyond team collaboration. Solo developers rely on version control hosting to safely make changes to their projects without breaking their builds. If a branch merge ruins their project, solo developers can easily revert to a prior version to preserve their overall progress.