When it comes to software engineering, VCS or version control system is a component of the management of software configuration. It is a class of systems generally responsible for running changes to documents, computer programs, or other collections of information. It mostly runs as standalone applications but is also embedded in several software.
GIT and subversion are two of the enterprise version control system. They help with project and workflow management in coding. Sometimes, people get confused between both of these VCS. So, this article highlights the differences between GIT and subversion to clear up the confusion.
GIT vs Subversion
The main difference between GIT and subversion VCS is that GIT is a system of distributed version control used for the management of source code. On the other hand, subversion is a system of revision control and centralized versioning. GIT uses a centralized repository and some local repositories. But subversion does not have a centralized repository.
In 2005, GIT was developed by Linus Torvalds. It focuses on data integrity and speed in which there is no need for centralized connectivity. It is cheap and powerful branching with easy merges. In this, each developer has a local copy and this repository in which they can change history.
Subversion manages folders and files that are present in the repository. Due to its network accessibility, it can be used and allow people to operate on different computers. Every user has their code copy on their local like own branch.
Comparison Table Between GIT and Subversion
| Parameters of Comparison | GIT | Subversion |
|---|---|---|
| Interpretation | It is a system of distributed version control used for the management of source code | It is a system of revision control and centralized versioning. |
| Subproject | Git submodule | SVN external |
| Global revision number | Does not have | Does have |
| Network access | Not mandatory | Must require |
| Used by | 90% of professional developers | 10% of professional developers |
What is GIT?
GIT is software used for tracking changes in any set of files. The goals of GIT data integrity, speed, non-linear workflows, and support for distributed. During software development, it coordinates work among programmers collaborating to develop source code. It becomes slow while dealing with a large number of files, such as binary files.
GIT is open-source and free software that is distributed under the license of GPL-2. 0-only. On every computer, every GIT directory has a full-fledged repository with full version tracking abilities and complete history. It is also independent of a central server or network access. The contents are checked cryptographically in which uses SHA- I hash algorithm, to sum up.
The inspiration of GIT design is Monotone and Bitkeeper. It was originally designed as a low-level engine of version control system on top of StGIT or Cogito. It supports merging and rapid branching and includes a specific tool for navigating and visualizing a non-linear development history.
According to Torvalds, it as being very scalable and fast. Mozilla did performance tests which showed that it was a magnitude order faster than some version control systems. It stores each new object which is created as an individual. Individually they are compressed and take a great deal of space.
What is Subversion?
Subversion is a software revision control and versioning system dispersal as open-source under the name of license Apache. It is used by software developers to maintain historical as well as current versions of files including, documentation, source code, and web pages.
The objective of subversion is to be the well-matched successor of the CVS or Control Version System, which is widely used. In 2000, the creator was CollabNet Inc. and currently, an Apache project at the top level is being constructed and generally used by the community of contributors global.
The package of Berkeley DB was used by the original version of subversion. There were some limitations too, in that while accessing a program, the database terminates or crashes forcibly. But no corruption or data loss occurs. SVN external is the subproject of subversion.
From perforce, it uses the model of inter-file branching to apply tagging and branches. The separate line of development is known as branch. This way tagging describes repository labeling at a point in time and to be easily found in the future.
Main Differences Between GIT and Subversion
- GIT creates a local repository instead of using a centralized server to store everything locally, whereas in source code to store changes subversion uses a centralized server.
- When it comes to content integrity, GIT contents are checked cryptographically in which it uses SHA- I hash algorithm, to sum up, while hashed contents are not included in subversion.
- In terms of learnability, GIT has more commands and concepts, which makes it difficult to learn. On the other hand, subversion is much easier to learn in comparison to GIT.
- The UI of GIT is not good as compared to subversion. On the flip side, subversion has a better and simple user interface.
- GIT becomes slow while dealing with a large number of files, such as binary files that change quickly. But subversion easily controls a large number of binary files.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that both GIT and subversion are two of the enterprise version control system. When it comes to coding, they are helpful in project and workflow management. GIT is a system of distributed version control used for the management of source code. But subversion is a system of revision control and centralized versioning.
In GIT, it is not mandatory to be accessed with the network for operation. But network access is must require in subversion. GIT uses a centralized repository and some local repositories. On the other hand, subversion does not have a centralized repository. In terms of popularity, GIT is used by 90% of professional developers, while subversion is used by 10% of professional developers.
References
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aM7-Oxo3qdQC&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=git&ots=3awiIDQit9&sig=vR4NVIh4Y_Lbx9YV1K_HFHloNjw
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=v1rN2MJ81JUC&oi=fnd&pg=PR4&dq=subversion+cvs&ots=n-h6b0mDDh&sig=oSDeET0BVVN7fwf3QMKS0x8GzM4