What are the best version control practices?

In my experience in software development, I've explored various Source Control Management (SCM) tools, including Source Safe, SVN, Mercurial and Git. My experiences with distributed SCM systems, particularly Git and Mercurial, have been highly positive, with a preference for Git. Choosing the right SCM depends on the project's specific needs and the team's expertise. However, I find Git to be exceptionally versatile, suitable for a wide range of projects due to its simplicity and ease of learning. Mercurial, in my view, offers similar benefits and could be as effective as Git in the right circumstances.

Git is normally the way to go, although if you need version control of large binaries then store them separately in SCM tool that is designed to handle a high volume of binary files.

Na minha opinião pessoal, o Git é uma ferramenta essencial para o controle de versão de projetos de software. Ao longo da minha experiência, tenho observado que algumas práticas são especialmente importantes para o seu uso eficaz. Por exemplo, considero crucial fazer commits frequentes e descritivos, pois isso permite um rastreamento claro das alterações ao longo do tempo. Além disso, o uso adequado de branches é fundamental para facilitar o desenvolvimento de novos recursos ou correções de bugs sem interferir no código principal. Também valorizo bastante o uso de pull requests e code reviews, pois isso ajuda a garantir a qualidade do código e promove a colaboração entre os membros da equipe.

Use Descriptive Commit Messages: Clearly explain changes made in each commit. Branching Strategy: Adopt a branching strategy like GitFlow for managing feature development and releases. Regular Commits: Make frequent, small commits to track changes effectively. Code Reviews: Conduct thorough code reviews to ensure quality and maintainability. Continuous Integration: Integrate changes frequently to detect issues early. Automated Testing: Implement automated tests to validate changes and prevent regressions. Version Tagging: Use semantic versioning for releases to communicate changes effectively. Documentation: Keep documentation up-to-date to facilitate collaboration and understanding.

branches if used should be short lived feature branches, or short lived release hardening. most imporant of all are configuration management baselines (tags in git speak) that give a meaningful names snapshots of the entire codebase and its dependencies.

Ensure that you have good automated integration test suite to enable developers to quickly and correctly integrate changes into a known working baseline.

Also make sure you are not version controlling secrets, these should be controlled outside of the codebase in secrets managers.

Feedback Mechanisms: Establish robust feedback mechanisms within your development teams to gather insights on version control processes and identify areas for improvement. Utilizing Metrics and Tools: Metrics and tools play a vital role in assessing version control performance. Git-specific tools like git-stats and git-standup offer valuable insights into commit frequency, code churn, and developer productivity. Adopting New Techniques: Embrace emerging techniques and best practices in version control to stay ahead of industry trends and optimize development workflows.