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(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Version_control)
A search for the author and revision that last modified a particular resource.
A set of files under version control may be branched at a point in time so that, from that time forward, two copies of those files may develop at different speeds or in different ways independently of each other.
A change (or diff, or delta) represents a specific modification to a document under version control.
A change list is a set of changes made before a commit.
To check out (or co) is to create a local working copy from the repository. A user may specify a specific revision or obtain the latest.
Cloning means creating a repository containing the revisions from another repository.
A 'commit' or 'revision' (SVN) is a modification that is applied to the repository.
To commit is to write or merge the changes made in the working copy to the repository. A commit contains metadata, typically the author information and a commit message that describes the change.
A conflict occurs when different parties make changes to the same document, and the system is unable to reconcile the changes. A user must resolve the conflict by combining the changes, or by selecting one change in favour of the other.
Most revision control software uses delta compression, which retains only the differences between successive versions of files. This allows for more efficient storage of many file versions.
The flow of data from the original repository to the cloned repository.
Exporting is the act of obtaining the files from the repository. It is similar to checking out except that it creates a clean directory tree without the version-control metadata.
Fetch is sometimes used as a synonym for pull, or a pull followed by an update.
The process of merging changes made in the main trunk into a development ( feature or team) branch.
Sometimes called tip, this refers to the most recent commit, either to the trunk or to a branch. The trunk and each branch have their own head, though HEAD is sometimes loosely used to refer to the trunk.
Importing is the act of copying a local directory tree (that is not currently a working copy) into the repository for the first time.
See change list.
The act of creating a new, empty repository.
Some revision control software uses Interleaved deltas, a method that allows storing the history of text based files in a more efficient way than by using Delta compression.
See tag.
When a developer locks a file, no-one else can update that file until it is unlocked. Locking can be supported by the version control system, or via informal communications between developers (aka social locking).
Similar to trunk, but there can be a mainline for each branch.
A merge or integration is an operation in which two sets of changes are applied to a file or set of files.
The name or alias of the link to the remote repository for pull operations. For example the clone of the remote link is usually something like https://github.com/user/project/repo.git. Internally git replaces this link with origin.
The act of copying file content from a less controlled location into a more controlled location. For example, from a user's workspace into a repository, or from a stream to its parent.
Copy revisions from one repository into another. Pull is initiated by the receiving repository.
Copy revisions from one repository into another. Push is initiated by the source repository.
A developer asking others to merge their "pushed" changes.
The repository (or "repo") is where files' current and historical data are stored, often on a server.
The act of user intervention to address a conflict between different changes to the same document.
Also version: A version is a change in any form.
The act of making one file or folder available in multiple branches at the same time. When a shared file is changed in one branch, it is changed in other branches.
See index.
A tag or label refers to an important snapshot in time, consistent across many files. These files at that point may all be tagged with a user-friendly, meaningful name or revision number.
The unique line of development that is not a branch (sometimes also called Baseline, Mainline or Master)
An update merges changes made in the remote repository into the local working copy.
Releasing a lock.
The flow of data from the cloned repository to the original repository.
The working copy is the local copy of files from a repository, at a specific time or revision. All work done to the files in a repository is initially done on a working copy, hence the name. Conceptually, it is a sandbox.