All software developers need to know about code subversion. As an instructor in software engineering this year, I have been trying to teach students that software is very much a team effort, where work is distributed and efficiently managed in order to deliver the product on time to the clients.

Subversion plays a key role here. In a team where you have multiple developers, each implementing separate classes, it would be cumbersome and time consuming if the programmers had to work on only one computer or transfer files to each other via email. Subversion allows programmers to “check in” code from their respective computers, regardless of where they are physically located. This effectively allows multiple developers from around the world to work together on the same projects.

Git has been revolutionary in code development and software engineering practices. It allows developers to post their code online and form teams to allow multiple developers to work together. However, this process could be confusing for a newbie coming to grips with what each term and command does.

This book acts as an excellent guide for any new software developer entering the scene. It discusses the common terminology, what repositories are, and how one can set up his or her own repos for use. Subversion allows files to be managed efficiently, with a logging history documenting changes made to them and creating branches.

Detailed recipes are provided on each of these topics. The book is great in that it gives example code on installation guides for Git on various platforms, showing how code can be pushed or checked in, merged, or managed. It provides details of what each input is going to do in terms of the project.

After covering the basics, the book covers more complex examples in detail, such as tracking and modifying branches, resolving conflicts in files (if multiple users have pushed the same file on the server, for example), and how projects can be manually managed via the command line or the Git web portals to view changes.

I found the book a necessary starting point for students and developers and will be adding it to my recommended textbooks for the software engineering course starting next year.

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