BRANCHING STRATEGY IN GIT
Git branching is a useful tool for database administrators and software engineers alike, especially in the Salesforce community. With Git, Salesforce customers can easily manage their releases, back up their data and secure their applications in an industry-leading way. This guide will provide an introduction to using version control with Git and outline some of the best practices and strategies you should be employing to keep your Salesforce applications and databases safe and running efficiently. Version control systems (VCS) like Git are essential to maintain consistent and stable data and code. For the Salesforce universe, VCSs like Git provide essential functions to the infrastructure, such as: • Tracking changes in individual files, or sets of data and code • Maintaining a single source of truth • Providing a way to manage multiple versions of data, or versions of a particular release • Ability to collaborate and work on projects By leveraging these features, you can create efficient release management cycles and stay up-to-date on the latest Salesforce security patches without any issues. Git branching is the core concept behind most VCS platforms such as Git. In Git, branching serves as a way to work on new features or bug-fixes while keeping the main or production version of the data or code intact. By creating "branches" of the main code or data, for example, you can work on one version while the other version of the code remains unchanged. This allows developers to quickly scale their development process without having to worry about making sweeping changes or running the risk of corrupting the main release. At its core, branching is all about creating a workflow that is tailored to your particular needs. This means understanding how to create branches in a modular fashion and develop strategies for managing multiple versions and releasing features without disrupting the stability of the primary version. Creating branches in git can be a tricky process, but overall it is a straightforward process. To start, you simply create a new branch from the main branch. Once created, the new branch will "inherit" all of the properties of the main branch. This means that any changes made to the main branch will get propagated to the new branch, unless specifically overridden. From here, developers then have flexibility in taking their branch in different directions. To that end, they can run experiments, add features, and make fixes without impacting the main branch. When the developers become satisfied with the changes they have made, they can then "push" the changes from their branch into the main branch for everyone to benefit from. It’s unlikely that you’ll want to keeping a large number of branches around. To manage the different versions, it's important to develop a branching strategy in order to streamline your release management. For example, having separate branches for development, staging, and production can be helpful in maintaining the integrity of your data and code. By separating these branches, it allows developers to work on new or different features in the development branch without having the fear of disrupting a functional application. A great example of a branching strategy for Salesforce can be seen in the "Git Flow" strategy. This strategy proposes having multiple branches, each associated with a particular environment or state like development, testing, or staging. The model also outlines processes for quickly updating and automating the transition and release of new features across multiple environments. In the end, Git branching should provide you with the tools necessary to quickly analyze, develop, and manage your Salesforce products as efficiently as possible. Armed with the basics of Git branching, developing a strategy should become a seamless and efficient process. Furthermore, by leveraging a VCS like Git, you will be able to keep your Salesforce projects up-to-date and secure while following all of the necessary industry regulations.
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