version control

A system that records changes to code over time, enabling teams to track history, collaborate without overwriting each other's work, and revert to earlier states when needed. Git is the dominant version control system. Code is stored in repositories; changes are committed with messages explaining what changed and why. Branching allows parallel development; merging integrates changes back.

When you'd see it: Engineering onboarding, code review processes, release management, DevOps tooling discussions.

Why it matters: Without version control, collaborative coding is chaotic — no history, no rollback, no parallel development. Version control is the foundational practice of software engineering, not an optional tool.

Common mistakes: Committing directly to the main/production branch. Best practice is to work in feature branches and merge through a review process — protecting the production state from unreviewed changes.

Related Git, GitHub, CI/CD, code review