I was wondering which DVCS is most conducive to experimentation i.e. branching, etc. I want something where anyone can quickly launch smaller projects and refactor code quickly. I want to create an environment where experimenting is cheap and can be discarded/merged easily.
+1
A:
Git is known for very cheap branching, they made it so that branching was something trivial, so that, like you said, you could create branches for any little thing. I don't have experience with the other DVCSes, but I imagine they're pretty similar given their similar nature. I just know that cheap branching is one of Git's reasons for creation, or something like that. Sorry if I misunderstood your question.
Here's a section of a popular article/site giving details about git over other version control systems.
In response to your comment: On windows I imagine? I've been fine using msysgit, get msysGit-fullinstall-1.6.4-preview20090729. For a detailed walkthrough with screenshots that helped out some friends, I recommend the Git for Windows Developers series.
Jorge Israel Peña
2009-11-08 02:21:39
That was my hunch as well, but I'm having a bitch of a time setting git.
dasickis
2009-11-08 02:24:04
Replied to your comment with an edit to my post.
Jorge Israel Peña
2009-11-08 02:39:56
as Linus said: "it's not about branching it's about merging" :)
alinrus
2009-11-08 03:55:52
+2
A:
You could also try mercurial, it's fast, it's distributed and it's easier to use. If you like working with a GUI try http://bitbucket.org/tortoisehg/stable/wiki/Home it's better than everything git has to offer. http://mercurial.selenic.com/downloads/ . Here is an analysis done by google before they integrated mercurial into google code http://code.google.com/p/support/wiki/DVCSAnalysis
alinrus
2009-11-08 03:47:45
We are running mercurial for .net programming for the past one year without any issues. Very stable and easy to use. Branching is easy in hg.
Mank
2009-11-08 03:58:16
A:
If you're a GUI user, why don't you take a look at Plastic SCM? http://codicesoftware.blogspot.com/2010/03/distributed-development-for-windows.html. It's one of the few commercial DVCSs out there and it's focused on ease of use but it has all the features you're looking for:
- Excellent branching and merging support (full merge tracking, rename support and all that)
- Distributed (and easy to use)
- Subtractive merge support (you can do it from the GUI)
Besides:
- Very good visualization
- Excellent Windows GUI (check it)
- Excellent VStudio integration
pablo
2010-03-19 23:49:00