Modern version control: creating an efficient development ecosystem

In 2011, Santa Clara University School of Law Technology and Academic Computing (LTAC) identified that its version control system could greatly benefit from the use of modern source control management software. Source code for high value projects, such as the Santa Clara Law website, were previously held in a Subversion (SVN) repository in a client-server model, providing version control and redundancy. Because of the resource footprint associated with SVN, only projects with high importance could be setup with version control. As more web-based applications were introduced, the need for a more efficient revision control system arose. Git, a highly efficient decentralized version control system (DVCS), was selected after evaluating similar technologies. This change transformed the entire development process, making the development cycle more streamlined and with greater flexibility. In the early use of Git, LTAC also discovered its use as a deployment tool, increasing redundancy on servers and reducing overhead usually associated with revision control. It also serves as the vital link between LTAC's issue tracking system, Redmine, and the development team. The introduction of Redmine has helped LTAC monitor website issues, manage projects, and continually review changes to the code base. LTAC has created a development ecosystem that provides redundancy and accountability using open source products that carry no cost. Git has significant performance gains over SVN, making its integration and use less frustrating and distracting for developers. Redmine gives developers and customers the opportunity to organize, track, and resolve issues. The flexibility of the technology used means that any project, from a content management system to a one-off script, can benefit from source control without large costs or long deployment times.