Version Control
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
Version Control is a system that tracks every change ever made to your files. It's like a complete history book for your codebase — who changed what, when, and why. You can always go back to any point in time. Git is the most popular version control system, but the concept predates it.
Real Talk
Version control systems (VCS) track changes to files over time, enabling history browsing, branching, and collaboration. Centralized VCS (SVN) use a single server; distributed VCS (Git) give every developer a full copy. Version control is the foundation of all modern software development workflows.
When You'll Hear This
"Put that under version control immediately." / "We use Git for version control — all changes are tracked and reviewable."
Related Terms
Changelog
A Changelog is a file (usually CHANGELOG.md) that records what changed in each version of your software.
CI (Continuous Integration)
CI is like a robot assistant that instantly checks your homework every time you hand it in.
Git
Git is like a magical save system for your code. Every time you save (commit), it remembers exactly what changed.
GitOps
GitOps is the idea that git is the single source of truth for EVERYTHING — your code, your infrastructure config, your deployment state.
Semantic Versioning (SemVer)
Semantic versioning uses three numbers — MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH — where each number means something. PATCH (1.0.1) = bug fix. MINOR (1.1.