Alex Rivera | Logout

Is there a fundamental difference between backups and version control?

Asked 2009-02-14T19:15:54.020
29

How does version control differ from plain backups?

Let's forget about the feature decoration, and concentrate on the soul of version control. Is there a clear line that backups must cross before they can be called a VCS? Or are they, at heart, the same thing with different target markets?

If there is a fundamental difference, what is the absolute minimum requirement for something to reach the status of version control?

When you answer, please don't just list features (such as delta compression, distributed/central repositories, and concurrent access solutions) that most version control systems have or should have, unless they actually are necessary for a VCS by definition.

version-control backup
Edit
Report

2 Answers

3

Here's a few

  • A backup system keeps backups for a given range of time back. Version control typically always keep all the versions ever made.
  • Version control typically concentrates on versioning of text files.
  • In A version control system you typically can get immediate access to any version of any file. A backup system may take some time before having access to what you want to find.
answered 2009-02-14T19:21:21.527
1

Version control is basically an automated backup system that allows multiple users to contribute. There are absolutely more features involved with software like CVS, but yeah, it's a backup system under the hood. That doesn't mean you should manually backup instead of use version control, though, they're just in the same niche of computing.

answered 2009-02-14T19:20:19.377

Your Answer