Explore Git and Team Foundation Version Control

  • 2 minutes

Git (distributed)

Git is a distributed version control system. Each developer has a copy of the source repository on their development system. Developers can commit each set of changes on their dev machine.

Branches are lightweight. When you need to switch contexts, you can create a private local branch. You can quickly switch from one branch to another to pivot among different variations of your codebase. Later, you can merge, publish, or dispose of the branch.

Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC-centralized)

Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC) is a centralized version control system.

Typically, team members have only one version of each file on their dev machines. Historical data is maintained only on the server. Branches are path-based and created on the server.

TFVC has two workflow models:

  • Server workspaces - Before making changes, team members publicly check out files. Most operations require developers to be connected to the server. This system helps lock workflows. Other software that works this way includes Visual Source Safe, Perforce, and CVS. You can scale up to huge codebases with millions of files per branch—also, large binary files with server workspaces.
  • Local workspaces - Each team member copies the latest codebase version with them and works offline as needed. Developers check in their changes and resolve conflicts as necessary. Another system that works this way is Subversion.