This series of articles will discuss the software development strategy, specifically the Version Control Tool branching strategies.
- Trunk-based or Feature-based Development (1) --- Definition
- Trunk-based or Feature-based Development (2) --- Comparison --- This article
A - Introduction
This article will discuss the comparisons between Trunk-based workflow and Gitflow. The content of this article
- A - Introduction
- B - Comparisons between Git-Flow and Trunk-Based Developments
- C - Git Flow Pros and Cons
- D - Trunk-based Development Pros and Cons
B - Comparisons between Git-Flow and Trunk-Based Developments
Philosophy
Team composition
Product Type
Authoring process
Deployment
Release frequency
C - Git Flow Pros and Cons
When Does Git Flow Work Best?
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When you run an open-source project.
This style comes from the open-source world, and it works best there. Since everyone can contribute, you want to have very strict access to all the changes. You want to be able to check every single line of code because, frankly, you can’t trust people contributing. Usually, those are not commercial projects, so development speed is not a concern. -
When you have a lot of junior developers.
If you work mostly with junior developers, then you want to have a way to check their work closely. You can give them multiple hints on how to do things more efficiently and help them improve their skills faster. People who accept pull requests have strict control over recurring changes so they can prevent deteriorating code quality. -
When you have an established product.
This style also seems to play well when you already have a successful product. In such cases, the focus is usually on application performance and load capabilities. That kind of optimization requires very precise changes. Usually, time is not a constraint, so this style works well here. What’s more, large enterprises are a great fit for this style. They need to control every change closely since they don’t want to break their multi-million dollar investment.
When Can Git Flow Cause Problems?
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When you are just starting up.
If you are just starting up, then Git Flow is not for you. Chances are you want to create a minimal viable product quickly. Doing pull requests creates a huge bottleneck that slows the whole team down dramatically. You simply can’t afford it. The problem with Git flow is the fact that pull requests can take a lot of time. It’s just not possible to provide rapid development that way. -
When you need to iterate quickly.
Once you reach the first version of your product, you will most likely need to pivot it a few times to meet your customers’ needs. Again, multiple branches and pull requests reduce development speed dramatically and are not advised in such cases. -
When you work mostly with senior developers.
If your team consists mainly of senior developers who have worked with one another for a longer period of time, then you don’t really need the aforementioned pull request micromanagement. You trust your developers and know that they are professionals. Let them do their job, and don’t slow them down with all the Git flow bureaucracy.
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