Git Branching Models

Our current branching model is not optimal and makes keeping track of versions hard. This page discusses various branching models.

Models

Current SVN-like Model

• master is the development branch which contains incompatible code as well
• A version branch e.g. 1.5.2 is created when releasing a new stable version
• 'Stable commits' are merged from master frequently (==> rolling release like)

Pros

• Easy management of incompatible code (==> rolling-release works well)

Cons

• Prone to losing track of differences between master and version branches
• Doesn't integrate well with popular Git models implemented on e.g. GitHub

Feature Branches

• New, maybe incompatible features are implemented in separate branches and merged as soon as they are stable
• master is mostly stable
• When releasing a new version, a tag is created from master
• Release intervals are smaller

Pros

• "Git"-way (==> integrates well with GitHub)
• No weird cherry-picking is necessary

Cons

• We have to modify our nightly system and build server settings to support feature branches somehow (required for properly distributing tests)

Comments

TODO