Code Repositories in SaaS Development

One of the first things your developers are going to do is set up a code repository, often known as a "code repo."

What is a code repo?

A code repo is a versioning system that enables you to see and work with every version of every piece of code that has been written for your project. It enables code to be worked on simultaneously by multiple people around the world. A code repo is a key factor in distributed teams development.

Code repos are amazing

What a lot of non-developers don’t realize is that a codebase is like a living thing, constantly changing, constantly being added to and deleted from. This isn’t just when you see the changes on the system you’re using or testing, but there are also versions on top of versions that just apply to each developer. So each developer has their versions of the code which are always changing as they make changes, but then the main system has it’s own versions within versions within versions.

I think that the modern code repo is one of the coolest tools out there that so many people don’t know about or understand. It keeps things in order, it keeps your team together, it enables teams across the world to work together in ways they never could before. It is one of the ingredients in the glue that enables your team to operate.

PROTIP: If you’re interviewing developers, ALWAYS ask them what repo they use and what their experience is with a code repo. If they don’t use one, or don’t really know it that well, THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING, SO DON’T HIRE THEM.

A few commonly used repos:

• Git (this is the repo software - it can be run from your own server if needs be)

• Github (online place that runs the repo software)

• Bitbucket (another online system that runs the repo software - this is what my team uses)