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  1. Stackups
  2. DevOps
  3. Version Control
  4. Version Control System
  5. Fork vs Mercurial

Fork vs Mercurial

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Mercurial
Mercurial
Stacks229
Followers219
Votes105
Fork
Fork
Stacks197
Followers258
Votes126

Fork vs Mercurial: What are the differences?

## Introduction
When comparing Fork and Mercurial, there are key differences that set them apart in terms of version control systems.

1. **Development Focus**: Fork is primarily focused on providing a visually appealing and user-friendly Git client experience, offering a range of features to enhance the development workflow. On the other hand, Mercurial prioritizes simplicity and ease of use by providing a straightforward and efficient version control system without the need for additional complexity.
  
2. **Backend Technology**: Fork uses Git as its backend technology, leveraging its powerful capabilities for managing code repositories. In contrast, Mercurial has its own unique backend technology specifically designed for version control, offering a different approach and set of features compared to Git.
  
3. **Branching and Merging**: Fork simplifies branching and merging operations through its intuitive interface, making it easier for developers to work collaboratively on projects. Mercurial, while also capable of handling branching and merging effectively, may have a slightly different approach or interface compared to Fork.
  
4. **Community and Support**: Fork benefits from a strong and active community of users and developers who contribute to its ongoing development and provide support for any issues or questions. Mercurial, although also supported by a dedicated community, may have a different level of support or resources available compared to Fork.
  
5. **Extensions and Plugins**: Fork offers a wide range of extensions and plugins that can be easily integrated into the workflow to enhance functionality and efficiency. In comparison, Mercurial also supports extensions and plugins, but the available options may differ in terms of scope and compatibility with specific development requirements.
  
6. **User Interface Customization**: Fork provides extensive options for customizing the user interface to suit individual preferences and workflows, allowing for a personalized development experience. Mercurial, while offering some degree of customization, may have limitations or a different approach to interface modifications compared to Fork.

In Summary, Fork excels in providing a visually appealing and feature-rich Git client experience with a focus on user-friendly development workflows, while Mercurial emphasizes simplicity and efficiency in version control without the need for additional complexity.

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Advice on Mercurial, Fork

Stefan
Stefan

Jan 19, 2020

Decided

I explored many Git Desktop tools for the Mac and my final decision was to use Fork. What I love about for that it contains three features, I like about a Git Client tool.

It allows

  • to handle day to day git operations (least important for me as I am cli junkie)
  • it helps to investigate the history
  • most important of all, it has a repo manager which many other tools are missing.
198k views198k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

Mercurial
Mercurial
Fork
Fork

Mercurial is dedicated to speed and efficiency with a sane user interface. It is written in Python. Mercurial's implementation and data structures are designed to be fast. You can generate diffs between revisions, or jump back in time within seconds.

Manage your repositories without leaving the application. Organize the repositores into categories. Fork's Diff Viewer provides a clear view to spot the changes in your source code quickly.

Statistics
Stacks
229
Stacks
197
Followers
219
Followers
258
Votes
105
Votes
126
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 18
    A lot easier to extend than git
  • 17
    Easy-to-grasp system with nice tools
  • 13
    Works on windows natively without cygwin nonsense
  • 11
    Written in python
  • 9
    Free
Cons
  • 0
    Track single upstream only
  • 0
    Does not distinguish between local and remote head
Pros
  • 19
    One of the easiest and fastest git GUIs
  • 14
    Nice UX
  • 13
    Does the job way better than others
  • 13
    Fast, Great support, Does-it-all, blazing fast
  • 11
    Dark theme
Cons
  • 2
    Poorly written license
  • 1
    Merges that require interactive user decision
  • 1
    Stability is fragile when looking deeply into history
Integrations
Windows
Windows
Fedora
Fedora
FreeBSD
FreeBSD
Debian
Debian
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux
Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Git
Git

What are some alternatives to Mercurial, Fork?

Git

Git

Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.

SourceTree

SourceTree

Use the full capability of Git and Mercurial in the SourceTree desktop app. Manage all your repositories, hosted or local, through SourceTree's simple interface.

GitKraken

GitKraken

The downright luxurious Git client for Windows, Mac and Linux. Cross-platform, 100% standalone, and free.

Tower

Tower

Use all of Git's powerful feature set - in a GUI that makes you more productive.

Sublime Merge

Sublime Merge

A snappy UI, three-way merge tool, side-by-side diffs, syntax highlighting, and more. Evaluate for free – no account, tracking, or time limits.

SVN (Subversion)

SVN (Subversion)

Subversion exists to be universally recognized and adopted as an open-source, centralized version control system characterized by its reliability as a safe haven for valuable data; the simplicity of its model and usage; and its ability to support the needs of a wide variety of users and projects, from individuals to large-scale enterprise operations.

GitUp

GitUp

GitUp lets you see your entire labyrinth of branches and merges with perfect clarity. Any change you make, large or small, even outside GitUp, is immediately reflected in GitUp's graph. No refreshing, no waiting.

Plastic SCM

Plastic SCM

Plastic SCM is a distributed version control designed for big projects. It excels on branching and merging, graphical user interfaces, and can also deal with large files and even file-locking (great for game devs). It includes "semantic" features like refactor detection to ease diffing complex refactors.

Pijul

Pijul

Pijul is a free and open source (AGPL 3) distributed version control system. Its distinctive feature is to be based on a sound theory of patches, which makes it easy to learn and use, and really distributed.

DVC

DVC

It is an open-source Version Control System for data science and machine learning projects. It is designed to handle large files, data sets, machine learning models, and metrics as well as code.

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