Efficient Usage of Git for Web Developers

Mindfire Solutions
Aug 8, 2017 · 3 min read

Nowadays, most web developers work in distributed development environment. They also have to release web applications in short delivery cycles. Likewise, the web developers also have to collaborate consistently with QA professionals, business analysts, project managers, and other stakeholders in the project. That is why; they have to make changes to various files on a regular basis.

Most web developers nowadays use version control systems to record and track the changes made to individual files efficiently. The version control system further makes it easier for programmers to recall a specific version of the files and restore an earlier version of the source code. Based on their requirements, the web developers have option to choose from a number of version control systems.

Git is an open source version control system. It is being used widely by web developers to track changes made to both open source and commercial projects. The developers can further use Git with major operating systems and integrated development environments (IDEs). But the developers must understand the key features of Git to use the version control system more efficiently.

How to Use Git More Efficiently for Web Application Development?

Open Source

As mentioned earlier, Git is an open source and free version control system. Hence, the web developers can use the tool without increasing project overheads. But they can use Git to track changes made to the source code of both commercial and open source projects. They can even avail the assistance of the large community and refer to the online documentation to use Git more efficiently.

Distributed Architecture

Unlike other version control systems, Git is designed with a distributed architecture. The distributed architecture allows web developers to store project source code and track changes made to the project source code more efficiently. The users can further the working copy of the code as a repository, and include full history of changes to individual repositories. The distributed architecture makes Git perform more efficiently than other version control systems.

Focus on File Content

In addition to featuring a distributed architecture, Git also comes with features to focus on the attributes of real source code file trees. It determines the storage and version history of the file tree without considering the file names. As Git focuses on file content, it becomes easier for web developers to rename, split and reorganize project files without any restrictions. They can simply keep adding new files to the repository, and revisit a particular version of the project code almost immediately.

Supports Nonlinear Workflow

Git is more flexible than other version control systems. It further supports a variety of nonlinear development workflow. Further, it is compatible with several widely used operating systems, protocols, and IDEs. Hence, the web developers can use Git to track changes made to both large and small project code efficiently. They can further take advantage of tagging and branching functionality of Git to store and record version history more comprehensively.

Maintaining Security and Integrity of Source Code

Git uses a SHA1- a cryptographically secure hashing algorithm. The algorithm protects both project source code and change history despite unintentional mistakes. It further maintains the integrity of contents of various files, and keeps the relationship between files, directories, tags, versions and commits secure. The web developers can take advantage of the security features provided by Git to keep all repository objects secure without using any additional tools.

Facilitate Collaboration and Coordination

Most web developers nowadays work in distributed environments. Hence, each web developer has to write specific feature or functionality of the website. Git enables each member of the distributed team to make changes to the project source code, and commit the changes by adding descriptive comments. The descriptive comment will make the specific feature or functionality understandable to other members of the team. At the same time, the developers can further access and make changes to the code written by others without any confusion and ambiguity.

On the whole, many web developers prefer Git to other version control systems. Git further score over similar tools in the category of functionality, performance, flexibility, and security. Hence, the web developers can easily use Git to track changes made to the source code and restore a specific version of the code without any delay.

Mindfire Solutions

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Mindfire is a software service provider, with unrelenting focus on small-team offshore software development using Agile methods.

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