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  1. Stackups
  2. DevOps
  3. Version Control
  4. Version Control System
  5. Git vs Perforce

Git vs Perforce

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Git
Git
Stacks343.6K
Followers184.2K
Votes6.6K
GitHub Stars57.1K
Forks26.9K
Perforce
Perforce
Stacks83
Followers113
Votes9

Git vs Perforce: What are the differences?

Introduction

Git and Perforce are both version control systems commonly used in software development. While they serve the same purpose of tracking changes to files and collaborating on projects, there are key differences between the two. This article highlights six important distinctions between Git and Perforce.

1. Distributed vs Centralized: Git is a distributed version control system, meaning that each developer has a complete copy of the entire repository with full history on their local machine. In contrast, Perforce is a centralized version control system, where the repository is stored on a central server and developers access files through client applications connected to the server. This allows Git to work offline and enables faster operations since most operations are performed locally, whereas Perforce relies on network connectivity and has slower performance for operations that involve the server.

2. Branching and Merging: Git has a highly flexible and lightweight branching model. Developers can create branches effortlessly, allowing for easy experimentation and parallel development. Merging branches is also straightforward, with Git automatically detecting and resolving conflicts. Perforce, on the other hand, has a more complex branching and merging process. Creating branches requires lower-level administrative operations, and merging can be more error-prone, often requiring manual conflict resolution.

3. Repository Size: Git repositories typically have a smaller footprint compared to Perforce repositories. Git uses a delta compression method and stores changesets efficiently, resulting in smaller storage requirements. Perforce, being a centralized system, stores each file version individually, leading to larger repository sizes. This can impact the time and resources required for repository backups, cloning, and transferring data.

4. File Locking: Perforce provides a file-locking mechanism, which allows developers to lock files exclusively before editing them. This prevents concurrent modifications and conflicts, ensuring that only one person can edit a file at a time. Git, on the other hand, does not have built-in file locking. Instead, it encourages a more collaborative approach, allowing multiple developers to work on the same file simultaneously. Git helps resolve conflicts during merges and provides tools for efficient collaboration.

5. Integration and Extensibility: Git has excellent integration capabilities and can be easily integrated with other tools and services. There are numerous third-party integrations available for Git, allowing seamless connection with popular development platforms and workflows. Perforce, on the other hand, has a more comprehensive set of integrated development features built directly into the platform. It offers extensive support for large-scale projects, task management, and complex build processes.

6. Licensing and Cost: Git is an open-source version control system, distributed under the GNU General Public License. This means that Git is free to use and modify, making it an attractive choice for organizations of any size. Perforce, on the other hand, is a commercial system that requires licensing and may involve additional costs, depending on the number of users and specific requirements. The licensing model and associated costs can significantly impact the choice between Git and Perforce for organizations.

In Summary, Git and Perforce differ in their distribution model, branching and merging capabilities, repository size, file locking mechanism, integration options, and licensing and cost structure. Understanding these differences is crucial in choosing the right version control system for a particular project or organization.

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Advice on Git, Perforce

Kamaldeep
Kamaldeep

CEO at Zhoustify Agency

Nov 13, 2020

Decided

SVN is much simpler than git for the simple stuff (checking in files and updating them when everyone's online), and much more complex than git for the complicated stuff (branching and merging). Or put another way, git's learning curve is steep up front, and then increases moderately as you do weird things; SVN's learning curve is very shallow up front and then increases rapidly.

If you're storing large files, if you're not branching, if you're not storing source code, and if your team is happy with SVN and the workflow you have, I'd say you should stay on SVN.

If you're writing source code with a relatively modern development practice (developers doing local builds and tests, pre-commit code reviews, preferably automated testing, preferably some amount of open-source code), you should move to git for two reasons: first, this style of working inherently requires frequent branching and merging, and second, your ability to interact with outside projects is easier if you're all comfortable with git instead of snapshotting the outside project into SVN.

83.3k views83.3k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

Git
Git
Perforce
Perforce

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.

Visibility, access control, workflow and code management for Git environments. Flexibility of collaborating on the same codebase and code reviews using any combination of Perforce and Git workflows and tools without compromise.

-
Version Control; Application Lifecycle Management; Static Code Analysis for C, C++, C#, and Java; Codeless Selenium Test Automation; Open Source Support; Enterprise PHP Development
Statistics
GitHub Stars
57.1K
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Forks
26.9K
GitHub Forks
-
Stacks
343.6K
Stacks
83
Followers
184.2K
Followers
113
Votes
6.6K
Votes
9
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 1429
    Distributed version control system
  • 1053
    Efficient branching and merging
  • 959
    Fast
  • 843
    Open source
  • 726
    Better than svn
Cons
  • 16
    Hard to learn
  • 11
    Inconsistent command line interface
  • 9
    Easy to lose uncommitted work
  • 8
    Worst documentation ever possibly made
  • 5
    Awful merge handling
Pros
  • 3
    Powerful
  • 3
    Great for Enterprise level use
  • 2
    Robust
  • 1
    Scalable

What are some alternatives to Git, Perforce?

GitHub

GitHub

GitHub is the best place to share code with friends, co-workers, classmates, and complete strangers. Over three million people use GitHub to build amazing things together.

Bitbucket

Bitbucket

Bitbucket gives teams one place to plan projects, collaborate on code, test and deploy, all with free private Git repositories. Teams choose Bitbucket because it has a superior Jira integration, built-in CI/CD, & is free for up to 5 users.

GitLab

GitLab

GitLab offers git repository management, code reviews, issue tracking, activity feeds and wikis. Enterprises install GitLab on-premise and connect it with LDAP and Active Directory servers for secure authentication and authorization. A single GitLab server can handle more than 25,000 users but it is also possible to create a high availability setup with multiple active servers.

RhodeCode

RhodeCode

RhodeCode provides centralized control over distributed code repositories. Developers get code review tools and custom APIs that work in Mercurial, Git & SVN. Firms get unified security and user control so that their CTOs can sleep at night

AWS CodeCommit

AWS CodeCommit

CodeCommit eliminates the need to operate your own source control system or worry about scaling its infrastructure. You can use CodeCommit to securely store anything from source code to binaries, and it works seamlessly with your existing Git tools.

Gogs

Gogs

The goal of this project is to make the easiest, fastest and most painless way to set up a self-hosted Git service. With Go, this can be done in independent binary distribution across ALL platforms that Go supports, including Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.

Gitea

Gitea

Git with a cup of tea! Painless self-hosted all-in-one software development service, including Git hosting, code review, team collaboration, package registry and CI/CD. It published under the MIT license.

Mercurial

Mercurial

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.

Upsource

Upsource

Upsource summarizes recent changes in your repository, showing commit messages, authors, quick diffs, links to detailed diff views and associated code reviews. A commit graph helps visualize the history of commits, branches and merges in your repository.

Beanstalk

Beanstalk

A single process to commit code, review with the team, and deploy the final result to your customers.

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