What Is Source Control? Exploring Source Control Management Tools
Source control tools enable development teams to effectively manage changes and version code in their codebases. Here we cover what source control is and how to choose tools.
Read along or jump to the section that interests you the most.
- What Is Source Control?
- What Is Source Control Management?
- Why a Source Control Management Tool Is Important
- 5 Tips for Source Control Management
- Source Control Management Tools — Beyond Git
What Is Source Control?
Source control is the tracking and management of changes to code. This ensures that developers are always working on the right version of source code.
Source Control vs. Version Control
Source control and version control can used interchangeably. However, source control is specific to source code. Version control also covers large binary files and digital assets.
What Is Source Control Management?
Source control management (SCM) refers to tools that help you keep track of your code with a complete history of changes.
Source Control vs. Source Code Management
Source control and source code management are also used interchangeably. However, source control is specific to tracking changes in source code. While a source code management tool (SCM) tracks changes to a source code repository.
SCM also maintains a history of changes. This is used to resolve conflicts when merging updates from multiple developers.
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Why a Source Control Management Tool Is Important
Source control is important for maintaining a single source of truth for development teams. Using it helps facilitate collaboration and accelerates release velocity.
Some benefits of source control are:
- It allows multiple developers to work on the same codebase.
- Developers can commit and merge code without conflicts.
- Developers can edit shared code without unknowingly overwriting each other’s work.
📘 Related Resource: 10 Reasons Why Helix Core Is the Most Trusted Version Control System
5 Tips for Source Control Management
Having a system is one thing. Managing it effectively is another. Here are five tips to keep in mind:
- Choose the right system. (Helix Core is a great one.)
- Store your code in the system.
- Pull the latest version of the code.
- Commit code often (and make notes).
- Use branches to work in parallel.
Choosing the right system is important — that’s why it’s the first best practice. But there are a lot of options to wade through. Here’s how they break down.
📘 Related Resource: 8 Version Control Best Practices
List of Source Control Management Tools
Source control tools include:
- Git
- Helix Core
- Subversion
- ClearCase
- Team Foundation Server
- Mercurial
Version Control with Git Is One Popular Option
Git source control is one of the most popular options. Some teams use open source Git. Others use enterprise Git. Some popular Git source control options include GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket.
Perforce also has Git tools. Helix4Git is a version control with Git that is locked into a Perforce server. This streamlines your pipeline. And Helix TeamHub can host Git repositories.
📘 Related Resource: Compare Git vs. Perforce
Source Control Management Tools — Beyond Git
There are several other source code management tools beyond Git. These include the following.
Helix Core
Helix Core is a Perforce source control tool, available for free for up to 5 users. It’s especially well-suited for complex development challenges (such as game development or embedded systems development). And it scales well as teams (and files) grow.
Subversion (SVN)
Subversion is an open source version control software. It mimics some features of Concurrent Versions Systems (CVS) and was popular in the early 2000s. It’s since lost some ground to Git.
ClearCase
IBM Rational ClearCase is another SCM tool. It used to be the cutting edge of technology. However, ClearCase can impede the adoption of DevOps processes, which has led many teams to switch tools.
Team Foundation Server (TFS)
Microsoft TFS is a software tool that combines version control, issue tracking, and ALM. TFS has been used to track changes to source code for the past decade, with different options for on-premises and cloud.
Mercurial
Mercurial is another SCM tool that emerged around the same time as Git. Many teams trust Mercurial to manage large codebases and the history of legacy code.
What Is the Best Source Control Management Tool?
There are so many source control tools available, you might wondering… Which one is the best?
Helix Core is the best option for any team — from a small team of indie game developers to a large enterprise with 1,000s of developers working on code.
That’s Because Helix Core:
- Scales better than any other tool, as your teams and files grow.
- Ensures a single source of truth across development teams.
- Accelerates builds and helps developers work more efficiently.
- Integrates with your existing tools, making it easy to sync work.
Get Started with Helix Core For Free
See for yourself why Helix Core is the tool of choice for today’s development teams. You can get started with it for free for up to 5 users and 20 workspaces.
And using Helix4Git you get version control with Git, plus all the benefits of Helix Core.
