Git vs SVN
Distributed version control vs centralized version control
Git and SVN are both version control systems, but they differ fundamentally in architecture. Git is distributed, giving every developer a full copy of the repository, while SVN is centralized, relying on a single authoritative server that all developers commit to.
Git
Git is a distributed version control system created by Linus Torvalds in 2005 to manage the Linux kernel source code. Every developer has a complete copy of the repository, including its full history. Branching and merging are lightweight, fast operations, making feature branches a natural workflow. Git has become the dominant version control system, powering platforms like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket.
SVN
SVN (Apache Subversion) is a centralized version control system created in 2000 as a successor to CVS. All versioned data lives on a central server, and developers check out working copies (not the full history). SVN uses a simpler mental model: a single linear revision history with atomic commits. While its market share has declined, SVN is still used in enterprises and for managing large binary assets.
Key Differences
- **Architecture**: Git is distributed (every clone has full history). SVN is centralized (one server holds the canonical repository). - **Branching**: Git branches are cheap, local pointers to commits. SVN branches are full directory copies on the server, making them heavier. - **Offline work**: Git supports full offline commits, branching, and history browsing. SVN requires server access for most operations. - **Speed**: Git operations (log, diff, branch) are local and nearly instant. SVN operations often require server round-trips. - **Storage**: Git stores snapshots of the entire project. SVN tracks per-file changes with a delta-based approach. - **Learning curve**: SVN has a simpler model (linear history, fewer concepts). Git is more powerful but has a steeper learning curve with concepts like staging, rebasing, and remote tracking.
When to Use Each
**Use Git** for virtually all modern software projects, open source collaboration, projects requiring branching-heavy workflows, and distributed teams. **Use SVN** when managing large binary files that do not benefit from distributed copies, in legacy enterprise environments with existing SVN infrastructure, or when a simpler centralized model is preferred for non-technical teams.
Analogy
**Git** is like every team member having a complete photocopy of the entire filing cabinet: they can work independently, compare histories, and merge changes when ready. **SVN** is like a shared filing cabinet in the office: everyone takes documents out to work on them and puts them back, but the cabinet is the single source of truth.