Git for Teams

Chapter 2. Command and Control

By its very definition, distributed version control eschews centralized control. There are no fixed rules built into Git that will help you to control access to your code—Git is, after all, just a simple content tracker. This can be a real turnoff for some people who are accustomed to version control systems that double as gatekeepers and access control managers. This lack of centralized access controls doesn’t mean your project suddenly turns into anarchy.

In “Project Governance”, you will learn about:

• Authorship, copyright, and distribution licenses

• Leadership models, which can set the tone for how contributions are made to your project

• Codes of Conduct, which establish firm guidelines for expected and acceptable behavior of contributors

Then, in “Access Models”, you will learn how to structure access to your project. Three models are described:

• Dispersed contributors

• Collocated contributor repositories

• Shared maintenance

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to confidently establish an access model for your team that keeps contributors happy, and ensures you are still able to comply with any reporting requirements from regulatory bodies.

Project Governance

If I were the betting type, I’d wager you picked up this book with the intention of learning Git. This section talks about legal mumbo jumbo. If you are the impatient type, you may wonder exactly why I have wasted valuable time on this esoteric topic. Think of this information ...