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Federal government of Nigeria
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Federal Government of Nigeria
Coat of arms of Nigeria
Formation
1963; 55 years ago (1963)
Founding document
Constitution of Nigeria
Jurisdiction
Nigeria
Legislative branch
Legislature
National Assembly
Meeting place
National Assembly Complex
Executive branch
Leader
President of Nigeria
Headquarters
Aso Rock Presidential Villa
Main organ
Cabinet
Judicial branch
Court
Supreme Court
Seat
Abuja, FCT
Nigeria
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Nigeria
Constitution[show]
Human rights
Government[show]
President (list)
Muhammadu Buhari
Vice President
Yemi Osinbajo
Cabinet
Federal Parastatals
National Assembly[show]
Senate
House of Representatives
Judiciary[show]
Supreme Court
Subdivisions[show]
States
State governors
Local Government Areas
Elections[show]
Recent elections
Presidential: 2011
2015
2019
Parliamentary: 2011
2015
2019
Political parties
Foreign relations[show]
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Diplomatic missions
of Nigeria
to Nigeria
Passport
Visa requirements
Other countries
Atlas
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The Federal Government of Nigeria is the federal government for the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a federation in West Africa, composed of 36 states, who share sovereignty with the federal government and 1 federal territory administered solely by the federal government. The federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the Constitution of Nigeria in the National Assembly, the President, and the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, respectively.
Nigeria is a federal republic, with executive power exercised by the president. The president is the head of state, the head of government, and the head of a multi-party system. Nigerian politics takes place within a framework of a federal, presidential, representative democratic republic, in which executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is held by the real government and the two chambers of the legislature: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Together, the two chambers make up the law-making body in Nigeria, called the National Assembly, which serves as a check on the executive arm of government. The highest judiciary arm of government in Nigeria is the Supreme Court of Nigeria which was created after independence and also practices Baron de Montesquieu's theory of the separation of powers[1] based on the United States system and also practises checks and balances[2] The Economist Intelligence Unit has rated Nigeria as "hybrid regime" in 2016.[3]
Contents
[hide]
1 Legal system
1.1 Legislation as a source of Nigerian law
1.2 Nigerian statutes as sources of Nigerian law
1.3 The post independence legislation 1960-1966
1.4 Military regime, 1966-1999
2 Executive branch
3 Legislative branch
4 Judicial branch
5 Political parties and elections
5.1 Presidential elections of Nigeria, 2015
5.2 House of Representatives
5.3 Senate
6 States of Nigeria
6.1 Local governments
7 Military
8 Foreign relations
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
Legal system[edit]
The law of Nigeria is based on the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, and British common law (due to the long history of British colonial influence). The common law in the legal system is similar to common-law systems used in England and Wales and other Commonwealth countries. The constitutional framework for the legal system is provided by the Constitution of Nigeria.
English Law, which is derived from its colonial past with Britain;
Common law, case law development since colonial independence;
Customary law, which is derived from indigenous traditional norms and practices;
Sharia law, law used in some states in the northern region.
There is a judicial branch, with the Supreme Court regarded as the highest court of the land.
Legislation as a source of Nigerian law[edit]
There is however no lack of rule in this country as it rules over the whole world and is known as "The Giant of Africa" are[4]
(1) Acts of British parliament, popularly referred to as statutes of general application.
(2) Local legislation (comprising enactments of the Nigerian legislatures from colonial period to date). There were other sources which though subsumed in Nigerian legislations were distinctly imported into the Nigerian legal systems. They are called the criminal and penal codes of Nigeria.
Nigerian statutes as sources of Nigerian law[edit]
Nigerian legislation may be classified as follows. The colonial era until 1960 , post independence legislation 1960-1966 , the military era 1966-1999.
The post independence legislation 1960-1966[edit]
The grant of independence to Nigeria was a milestone in the political history of the country. This period witnessed the consolidation of political gains made during the colonial era. Politicians genuinely focused their lapses in the polity. It achieved for herself a republican status by shaking off the last vestiges of colonial authority. However, despite the violent violation of its provisions, the constitution remained the subsequent administrations (military or otherwise).
Military regime, 1966-1999[edit]
The breakdown of law and order which occurred in the period under review would not be attributed to any defect in the Nigerian legal system. Corrupt practices both in the body politic and all aspects of Nigerian life eroded efficiency and progress. There were 8 coups generally five were successful and 3 were unsuccessful.
Executive branch[edit]
Seal of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The president is elected through universal suffrage. He or she is both the chief of state and head of government, heading the Federal Executive Council, or cabinet.
The executive branch is divided into Federal Ministries, each headed by a minister appointed by the president. The president must include at least one member from each of the 36 states in his cabinet. The President's appointments are confirmed by the Senate of Nigeria. In some cases, a federal minister is responsible for more than one ministry (for example, Environment and Housing may be combined), or a minister may be assisted by one or more ministers of State.[5] Each ministry also has a Permanent Secretary, who is a senior civil servant.[6]
The ministries are responsible for various parastatals (government-owned corporations), such as universities, the National Broadcasting Commission, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. However, some parastatals are the responsibility of the Office of the Presidency, such as the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Federal Civil Service Commission.[7]
Legislative branch[edit]
House of Representatives of Nigeria.
The National Assembly of Nigeria has two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives is presided over by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. It has 360 members, who are elected for four-year terms in single-seat constituencies. The Senate, which has 109 members, is presided over by the President of the Senate. 108 members are elected for four-year terms in 36 three-seat constituencies, which correspond to the country's 36 states. One member is selected in the single-seat constituency of the federal capital.
OFFICE NAME TERM
President of the Senate Bukola Saraki 2015 -
Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara 2015 -
Judicial branch[edit]
The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the Court of Appeals, the High Courts, and other trial courts such as the Magistrates', Customary, Sharia and other specialised courts.[8] The National Judicial Council serves as an independent executive body, insulating the judiciary from the executive arm of government.[9] The Supreme Court is presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and thirteen associate justices, who are appointed by the President of Nigeria on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council. These justices are subject to confirmation by the Senate.
Office
Office holder
Assumed office
Chief Justice W.S.N Onnoghen[10] 16 July 2016
Associate Justice Sylvester Umaru Onu 1993
Associate Justice Umaru Atu Kalgo 1998
Associate Justice G. A. Oguntade 2004
Associate Justice Sunday A. Akintan 2004
Associate Justice Mahmud Mohammed 2005
Associate Justice
Associate Justice Ikechi Francis Ogbuagu 2005
Associate Justice F. F. Tabai 1999
Associate Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad 2007
Political parties and elections[edit]
Presidential elections of Nigeria, 2015[edit]
Buhari
53.96%
Jonathan
44.96%
Margin: 2,571,759
Candidate
Party
Votes
%
Muhammadu Buhari All Progressives Congress 15,424,921 53.96
Goodluck Jonathan People's Democratic Party 12,853,162 44.96
Adebayo Ayeni African Peoples Alliance 53,537 0.19
Ganiyu Galadima Allied Congress Party of Nigeria 40,311 0.14
Sam Eke Citizens Popular Party 36,300 0.13
Rufus Salau Alliance for Democracy 30,673 0.11
Mani Ahmad African Democratic Congress 29,665 0.10
Allagoa Chinedu Peoples Party of Nigeria 24,475 0.09
Martin Onovo National Conscience Party 24,455 0.09
Tunde Anifowose-Kelani Accord Alliance 22,125 0.08
Chekwas Okorie United Progressive Party 18,220 0.06
Comfort Sonaiya KOWA Party 13,076 0.05
Godson Okoye United Democratic Party 9,208 0.03
Ambrose Albert Owuru Hope Party 7,435 0.03
Invalid/blank votes 844,519 –
Total 29,432,083 100
Registered voters/turnout 67,422,005 43.65
Source: INEC
House of Representatives[edit]
Party
Votes
%
Seats
+/–
All Progressives Congress 225
People's Democratic Party 125
Other parties 10
Invalid/blank votes – – –
Total 360 –
Registered voters/turnout – –
Source: Reuters Nigeria Tribune
Senate[edit]
Party
Votes
%
Seats
+/–
All Progressives Congress 60 19
People's Democratic Party 49 15
Labour Party
Invalid/blank votes – – –
Total 109 –
Registered voters/turnout – –
Source: Naijaonpoint
States of Nigeria[edit]
Nigeria is made up of 36 states and 1 territory. They are: the Federal Capital Territory, Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara
Local governments[edit]
Each state is further divided into Local Government Areas (LGAs). There are 774 LGAs in Nigeria.[11] Kano State has the largest number of LGAs at 44, and Bayelsa State has the fewest at 9. The Federal Capital Territory of Abuja has 6 LGAs.[11] LGAs replaced the Districts that were the previous third-tier administrative units under the British government.
Military[edit]
Main article: Military of Nigeria
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Nigerian troops
The military of Nigeria has played a major role in the country's history, often seizing control of the country and ruling it for long periods of time. Its last period of rule ended in 1999, following the death of the leader of the previous military junta Sani Abacha in 1998.
Active duty personnel in the three Nigerian armed services totals approximately 76,000. The Nigerian Army, the largest of the services, has about 60,000 personnel, deployed between two mechanized infantry divisions, one composite division (airborne and amphibious), the Lagos Garrison Command (a division-size unit), and the Abuja-based Brigade of Guards. The Nigerian Navy (7,000) is equipped with frigates, fast attack craft, convettes, and coastal patrol boats. The Nigerian Air Force (9,000) flies transports, trainers, helicopters, and fighter aircraft; however, most of their vehicles are currently not operational. Recently, Marshal of the Nigerian Air Force, Sadique Abubakar, suggested the purchase of equipment after dumping the non-operational vehicles.
Foreign relations[edit]
Main article: Foreign relations of Nigeria
Nigeria currently has better foreign relations with its neighbours, due to its current state of democracy. It is a member of the African Union and sits on that organization's Peace and Security Council. In 1960, Nigeria joined both the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Nations; however, they were briefly suspended between 1995 and 1999.
See also[edit]
Nigeria portal
Politics portal
Senate of Nigeria
National Assembly of Nigeria
List of Nigerian state governors
Nigerian Civil Service
List of Nigerian states
Nigerian Prisons Services
Chief Justice of Nigeria
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "separation of powers". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
Jump up ^ "Checks and Balances". www.factmonster.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
Jump up ^ solutions, EIU digital. "Democracy Index 2016 - The Economist Intelligence Unit". www.eiu.com. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
Jump up ^ "SOURCES AND CLASSIFICATION OF NIGERIAN LAW". Newswatch Times. Archived from the original on 2016-02-21. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
Jump up ^ "Government Ministries in Nigeria". Commonwealth of Nations. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
Jump up ^ "Permanent Secretaries". Office of the Head of Service of the Federation. Archived from the original on 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
Jump up ^ "BOARDS OF PARASTATALS". Office of the Head of Service of the Federation. Archived from the original on 2009-10-10. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
Jump up ^ "Court System in Nigeria". The Beehive by One Economy Corporation. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
Jump up ^ "Constitution". The National Judicial Council. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
Jump up ^ "ALOMA MUKHTAR: Making of Nigeria's Female CJN". P.M. News. Independent Communications Network Limited. July 16, 2012. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
^ Jump up to: a b "USAID Nigeria mission: Nigeria administrative divisions" October 2004
External links[edit]
Official website
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The Suicide Club (short story collection)
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The Suicide Club
Cover of the 2000 Dover Thrift Edition
Author
Robert Louis Stevenson
Country
Scotland
Language
English
Series
Later-day Arabian Nights
Genre
Detective fiction short story
Publisher
London Magazine
Publication date
June–October 1878
Media type
Print (Periodical)
Followed by
The Rajah's Diamond
The Suicide Club is a collection of three 19th century detective fiction short stories by Robert Louis Stevenson that combine to form a single narrative. First published in the London Magazine in 1878, they were collected and republished in the first volume of the New Arabian Nights.
The trilogy introduces the characters of Prince Florizel of Bohemia and his sidekick Colonel Geraldine. In this cycle they infiltrate a secret society of people intent on losing their lives.
It has been described as: "The Prince’s investigation of the macabre club and its criminally inclined president makes for one of Stevenson’s most exciting and suspenseful tales."[1]
The cycle has been adapted for stage, film and television on a number of occasions.
Contents
1 Plot summary
1.1 Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts
1.2 Story of the Physician and the Saratoga Trunk
1.3 The Adventure of the Hansom Cab
2 Adaptations
3 Publication history
4 References
5 External links
Plot summary[edit]
The three short stories that form this cycle are as follows.
Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts[edit]
The story is set in Victorian London, where Prince Florizel of Bohemia and Colonel Geraldine roam in search of adventure. They dine incognito in a London oyster bar where they are surprised to be accosted by a young man distributing cream tarts for free. Intrigued by this idiosyncratic behaviour they invite him to dinner where he reveals the existence of the Suicide Club, for men who want to end their lives, but are not capable of doing that, or do not want to shock their relatives by their suicide. Florizel and Geraldine claim to want to end their lives too, and become members. It turns out that during each gathering of the club, from the members, excluding the president, two people are selected at random: one who will be killed, and one who has to do the killing; the president then instructs the person to be killed where to go, and the killer how to do the killing, in such a way that it looks like an accident. Florizel and Geraldine are appalled by the first killing since their membership, and even more by the fact that the second time Florizel is selected to be killed. Geraldine saves him and arranges that servants of Florizel capture the club members. Florizel decides to help the club members to become happy, but also to dispatch the president abroad in the custody of Geraldine’s younger brother, to be killed by the latter.
Story of the Physician and the Saratoga Trunk[edit]
The second story in the cycle is set in the Latin Quarter of Paris where an American tourist finds himself embroiled in a dastardly plot.
Image taken from page 296 of 'The Suicide Club and The Rajah's Diamond.
In the story, while lodging in Paris naïve young Silas Q. Scuddamore is lured away by a beautiful young lady who promises a secret assignation but fails to appear. Returning to his hotel dejected he is shocked to discover a dead man in his bed. Kindly neighbour Dr. Noel arranges for Scuddamore and the body (concealed in a Saratoga trunk) to be smuggled to London in the company of Prince Florizel. Once in London, Florizel discovers the plot and reveals the victim to be Geraldine’s younger brother who has been murdered by the President of the Suicide Club in his escape from custody.
The Adventure of the Hansom Cab[edit]
The third and final story in the cycle is set in the gas-lit streets of Victorian era London where a retired British soldier looks for adventure.
In the story, former Lieutenant Brackenbury Rich is beckoned into the back of an elegantly appointed Hansom by a mysterious cabman who whisks him off to a party. There the host continuously assesses his various guests and asks them to depart until only a handful are left. The host then reveals himself to be Colonel Geraldine and invites Rich to join him on a secret mission. They travel to a discreet location where Prince Florizel, with the assistance of Dr. Noel, has finally ensnared the President of the Suicide Club. The Prince challenges the President to a duel to the death and emerges victorious.
Adaptations[edit]
1909: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company acquired the film rights in 1908 and director D. W. Griffith used the concept of the suicide club as the basis of his 4-minute short The Suicide Club [2] but the plot bore little resemblance to Stevenson’s stories.
1913: A 40-minute German version Der Geheimnisvolle Klub [3]
1914: A British version The Suicide Club (1914)[4] starring Montagu Love as Prince Florizel.
1919: Richard Oswald directed another German movie version as the fourth segment of Unheimliche Geschichten (1919)]] (1919)[5] starring Anita Berber and Conrad Veidt as Club President.
1929: Canadian playwright and theatrical manager Hugh Abercrombie Anderson successfully adapted the work for the stage, receiving good reviews.
1932: Oswald remade his film[citation needed] of 1919 retaining the title Unheimliche Geschichten [6] but with a new cast led by Paul Wegener. Footage from this film was later edited into Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1943).[7]
1936: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer adapted the story for Trouble for Two [8] starring Robert Montgomery as Prince Florizel, Frank Morgan as Colonel Geraldine, Reginald Owen as President of the Club and with the addition of a female love interest played by Rosalind Russell.
1946: A Chilean movie entitled La Dama de la muerte[9] directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen and starring Guillermo Battaglia and Carlos Cores. Footage from this film was later edited into Curse of the Stone Hand (1964).[10]
1947: Radio Program Murder at Midnight on January 6, 1947. Adaptation entitled The Ace of Death.
1947: CBS radio Escape on November 12, 1947. Adapted only "The Young Man With the Cream Tarts" portion.
1950: CBS Television series Suspense season 2, episode 24, on 14 February 1950;[11]
1956: ABC Radio ABC Mystery Time on June 7, 1956. The Suicide Club Adapted only "The Young Man With the Cream Tarts" portion.
1956: NBC TV series Lilli Palmer Theatre episode 12, directed by Dennis Vance on 12 December 1956;[12]
1960: NBC TV series The Chevy Mystery Show episode 17, starring Cesar Romero and Everett Sloane on 18 September 1960;[13]
1963: Ziv Television Programs TV series Ripcord episode 72, The Suicide Club, starring Larry Pennell and Ken Curtis;[14]
1970: Thames Television series Mystery and Imagination season 5, episode 1, starring Bernard Archard as President of the Club on 9 February 1970.[15]
1970: A Mexican adaptation entitled El Club de los suicidas [16] starring Enrique Guzmán.
1974: CBS Radio Mystery Theatre The Suicide Club.” Episode #87, broadcast May 7, starring Barry Nelson, Marian Seldes, John Baragrey, Dan Ocko, Lloyd Batista. Adapted by George Lowthar.[17]
1981: A Soviet adaptation entitled The Suicide Club, or the Adventures of a Titled Person starring Oleg Dal as Prince Florizel and Donatas Banionis as Chairman of the Club.
1988: An independent film version: The Suicide Club [18] starring Mariel Hemingway updated the story to modern times.
2000: The Suicide Club [19] starring Jonathan Pryce chose a more traditional setting but abandoned much of the original story.
2003: A Czech TV movie entitled Bankrotáři was broadcast by Česká televize on 26 December 2003.[20]
2007: Roberto Santiago directed a Spanish adaptation entitled El Club de los suicidas [21] starring Fernando Tejero and Lucía Jiménez.
2011: Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher adapted elements of the stories but changed the heroes to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club.
Publication history[edit]
1878, UK, London Magazine, Pub date Jun-Oct 1878, Periodical
1882, UK, Chatto & Windus, Pub date 1882, Hardback
1924 UK, Heinemann, vol one of collected works of Stevenson, Tusitala edition. Hardback.
1928, Macmillan Pocket Classics edition, illustrated by H.R..Millar, calf leather hardback.
1985, UK, Puffin ISBN 0-14-036764-0, Pub date Aug 1997, Paperback
1991, USA, Carroll & Graf ISBN 0-88184-741-0, Pub date Sep 1991, Hardback
2000, USA, Dover Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-486-41416-7, Pub date 2000, Paperback
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Rattiner, Susan L. (2000). "Notes". In Robert Louis Stevenson. The Suicide Club (Dover Thrift Editions ed.). Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc. pp. vii–iii.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com The Suicide Club (1909)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com Der Geheimnisvolle Klub (1913)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com The Suicide Club (1914)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com Unheimliche Geschichten (1919)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com Unheimliche Geschichten (1932)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1943)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com Trouble for Two (1936)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com La Dama de la muerte (1946)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com Curse of the Stone Hand (1964)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com The Suicide Club (1950)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com The Suicide Club (1956)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com The Suicide Club (1960)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com The Suicide Club (1963)". Retrieved May 21, 2012.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com The Suicide Club (1970)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com El Club de los suicidas (1970)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ http://www.nettally.com/keith.flowers/biblio/0087.htm
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com The Suicide Club (1988)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com The Suicide Club (2000)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com Bankrotári (2003)". Retrieved July 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ "IMDb.com Club de los suicidas, El (2007)". Retrieved March 30, 2009.
External links[edit]
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
The New Arabian Nights
The Suicide Club (Stevenson) at Project Gutenberg
The New Arabian Nights scanned at Archive.org.
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Version control
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"Revision control system" redirects here. For the specific software implementation, see Revision Control System.
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A component of software configuration management, version control, also known as revision control or source control,[1] is the management of changes to documents, computer programs, large web sites, and other collections of information. Changes are usually identified by a number or letter code, termed the "revision number", "revision level", or simply "revision". For example, an initial set of files is "revision 1". When the first change is made, the resulting set is "revision 2", and so on. Each revision is associated with a timestamp and the person making the change. Revisions can be compared, restored, and with some types of files, merged.
The need for a logical way to organize and control revisions has existed for almost as long as writing has existed, but revision control became much more important, and complicated when the era of computing began. The numbering of book editions and of specification revisions are examples that date back to the print-only era. Today, the most capable (as well as complex) revision control systems are those used in software development, where a team of people may concurrently make changes to the same files.
Version control systems (VCS) most commonly run as stand-alone applications, but revision control is also embedded in various types of software such as word processors and spreadsheets, collaborative web docs[2] and in various content management systems, e.g., Wikipedia's page history. Revision control allows for the ability to revert a document to a previous revision, which is critical for allowing editors to track each other's edits, correct mistakes, and defend against vandalism and spamming in wikis.
Contents
1 Overview
2 History
3 Structure
3.1 Graph structure
4 Specialized strategies
5 Source-management models
5.1 Atomic operations
5.2 File locking
5.3 Version merging
5.4 Baselines, labels and tags
6 Distributed revision control
7 Integration
8 Common terminology
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 Bibliography
13 External links
Overview[edit]
In computer software engineering, revision control is any kind of practice that tracks and provides control over changes to source code. Software developers sometimes use revision control software to maintain documentation and configuration files as well as source code.
As teams design, develop and deploy software, it is common for multiple versions of the same software to be deployed in different sites and for the software's developers to be working simultaneously on updates. Bugs or features of the software are often only present in certain versions (because of the fixing of some problems and the introduction of others as the program develops). Therefore, for the purposes of locating and fixing bugs, it is vitally important to be able to retrieve and run different versions of the software to determine in which version(s) the problem occurs. It may also be necessary to develop two versions of the software concurrently: for instance, where one version has bugs fixed, but no new features (branch), while the other version is where new features are worked on (trunk).
At the simplest level, developers could simply retain multiple copies of the different versions of the program, and label them appropriately. This simple approach has been used in many large software projects. While this method can work, it is inefficient as many near-identical copies of the program have to be maintained. This requires a lot of self-discipline on the part of developers and often leads to mistakes. Since the code base is the same, it also requires granting read-write-execute permission to a set of developers, and this adds the pressure of someone managing permissions so that the code base is not compromised, which adds more complexity. Consequently, systems to automate some or all of the revision control process have been developed. This ensures that the majority of management of version control steps is hidden behind the scenes.
Moreover, in software development, legal and business practice and other environments, it has become increasingly common for a single document or snippet of code to be edited by a team, the members of which may be geographically dispersed and may pursue different and even contrary interests. Sophisticated revision control that tracks and accounts for ownership of changes to documents and code may be extremely helpful or even indispensable in such situations.
Revision control may also track changes to configuration files, such as those typically stored in /etc or /usr/local/etc on Unix systems. This gives system administrators another way to easily track changes made and a way to roll back to earlier versions should the need arise.
History[edit]
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (December 2017)
See also: Comparison of version control software § History and adoption
Structure[edit]
Revision control manages changes to a set of data over time. These changes can be structured in various ways.
Often the data is thought of as a collection of many individual items, such as files or documents, and changes to individual files are tracked. This accords with intuitions about separate files but causes problems when identity changes, such as during renaming, splitting or merging of files. Accordingly, some systems, such as git, instead consider changes to the data as a whole, which is less intuitive for simple changes but simplifies more complex changes.
When data that is under revision control is modified, after being retrieved by checking out, this is not in general immediately reflected in the revision control system (in the repository), but must instead be checked in or committed. A copy outside revision control is known as a "working copy". As a simple example, when editing a computer file, the data stored in memory by the editing program is the working copy, which is committed by saving. Concretely, one may print out a document, edit it by hand, and only later manually input the changes into a computer and save it. For source code control, the working copy is instead a copy of all files in a particular revision, generally stored locally on the developer's computer;[note 1] in this case saving the file only changes the working copy, and checking into the repository is a separate step.
If multiple people are working on a single data set or document, they are implicitly creating branches of the data (in their working copies), and thus issues of merging arise, as discussed below. For simple collaborative document editing, this can be prevented by using file locking or simply avoiding working on the same document that someone else is working on.
Revision control systems are often centralized, with a single authoritative data store, the repository, and check-outs and check-ins done with reference to this central repository. Alternatively, in distributed revision control, no single repository is authoritative, and data can be checked out and checked into any repository. When checking into a different repository, this is interpreted as a merge or patch.
Graph structure[edit]
Example history graph of a revision-controlled project; trunk is in green, branches in yellow, and graph is not a tree due to presence of merges (the red arrows).
In terms of graph theory, revisions are generally thought of as a line of development (the trunk) with branches off of this, forming a directed tree, visualized as one or more parallel lines of development (the "mainlines" of the branches) branching off a trunk. In reality the structure is more complicated, forming a directed acyclic graph, but for many purposes "tree with merges" is an adequate approximation.
Revisions occur in sequence over time, and thus can be arranged in order, either by revision number or timestamp.[note 2] Revisions are based on past revisions, though it is possible to largely or completely replace an earlier revision, such as "delete all existing text, insert new text". In the simplest case, with no branching or undoing, each revision is based on its immediate predecessor alone, and they form a simple line, with a single latest version, the "HEAD" revision or tip. In graph theory terms, drawing each revision as a point and each "derived revision" relationship as an arrow (conventionally pointing from older to newer, in the same direction as time), this is a linear graph. If there is branching, so multiple future revisions are based on a past revision, or undoing, so a revision can depend on a revision older than its immediate predecessor, then the resulting graph is instead a directed tree (each node can have more than one child), and has multiple tips, corresponding to the revisions without children ("latest revision on each branch").[note 3] In principle the resulting tree need not have a preferred tip ("main" latest revision) – just various different revisions – but in practice one tip is generally identified as HEAD. When a new revision is based on HEAD, it is either identified as the new HEAD, or considered a new branch.[note 4] The list of revisions from the start to HEAD (in graph theory terms, the unique path in the tree, which forms a linear graph as before) is the trunk or mainline.[note 5] Conversely, when a revision can be based on more than one previous revision (when a node can have more than one parent), the resulting process is called a merge, and is one of the most complex aspects of revision control. This most often occurs when changes occur in multiple branches (most often two, but more are possible), which are then merged into a single branch incorporating both changes. If these changes overlap, it may be difficult or impossible to merge, and require manual intervention or rewriting.
In the presence of merges, the resulting graph is no longer a tree, as nodes can have multiple parents, but is instead a rooted directed acyclic graph (DAG). The graph is acyclic since parents are always backwards in time, and rooted because there is an oldest version. However, assuming that there is a trunk, merges from branches can be considered as "external" to the tree – the changes in the branch are packaged up as a patch, which is applied to HEAD (of the trunk), creating a new revision without any explicit reference to the branch, and preserving the tree structure. Thus, while the actual relations between versions form a DAG, this can be considered a tree plus merges, and the trunk itself is a line.
In distributed revision control, in the presence of multiple repositories these may be based on a single original version (a root of the tree), but there need not be an original root, and thus only a separate root (oldest revision) for each repository, for example, if two people starting working on a project separately. Similarly in the presence of multiple data sets (multiple projects) that exchange data or merge, there isn’t a single root, though for simplicity one may think of one project as primary and the other as secondary, merged into the first with or without its own revision history.
Specialized strategies[edit]
Engineering revision control developed from formalized processes based on tracking revisions of early blueprints or bluelines[citation needed]. This system of control implicitly allowed returning to an earlier state of the design, for cases in which an engineering dead-end was reached in the development of the design. A revision table was used to keep track of the changes made. Additionally, the modified areas of the drawing were highlighted using revision clouds.
Version control is widespread in business and law. Indeed, "contract redline" and "legal blackline" are some of the earliest forms of revision control,[3] and are still employed in business and law with varying degrees of sophistication. The most sophisticated techniques are beginning to be used for the electronic tracking of changes to CAD files (see product data management), supplanting the "manual" electronic implementation of traditional revision control.[citation needed]
Source-management models[edit]
Traditional revision control systems use a centralized model where all the revision control functions take place on a shared server. If two developers try to change the same file at the same time, without some method of managing access the developers may end up overwriting each other's work. Centralized revision control systems solve this problem in one of two different "source management models": file locking and version merging.
Atomic operations[edit]
Main article: Atomic commit
An operation is atomic if the system is left in a consistent state even if the operation is interrupted. The commit operation is usually the most critical in this sense. Commits tell the revision control system to make a group of changes final, and available to all users. Not all revision control systems have atomic commits; notably, CVS lacks this feature.
File locking[edit]
The simplest method of preventing "concurrent access" problems involves locking files so that only one developer at a time has write access to the central "repository" copies of those files. Once one developer "checks out" a file, others can read that file, but no one else may change that file until that developer "checks in" the updated version (or cancels the checkout).
File locking has both merits and drawbacks. It can provide some protection against difficult merge conflicts when a user is making radical changes to many sections of a large file (or group of files). However, if the files are left exclusively locked for too long, other developers may be tempted to bypass the revision control software and change the files locally, leading to more serious problems.
Version merging[edit]
Main article: Merge (revision control)
Most version control systems allow multiple developers to edit the same file at the same time. The first developer to "check in" changes to the central repository always succeeds. The system may provide facilities to merge further changes into the central repository, and preserve the changes from the first developer when other developers check in.
Merging two files can be a very delicate operation, and usually possible only if the data structure is simple, as in text files. The result of a merge of two image files might not result in an image file at all. The second developer checking in the code will need to take care with the merge, to make sure that the changes are compatible and that the merge operation does not introduce its own logic errors within the files. These problems limit the availability of automatic or semi-automatic merge operations mainly to simple text-based documents, unless a specific merge plugin is available for the file types.
The concept of a reserved edit can provide an optional means to explicitly lock a file for exclusive write access, even when a merging capability exists.
Baselines, labels and tags[edit]
Most revision control tools will use only one of these similar terms (baseline, label, tag) to refer to the action of identifying a snapshot ("label the project") or the record of the snapshot ("try it with baseline X"). Typically only one of the terms baseline, label, or tag is used in documentation or discussion[citation needed]; they can be considered synonyms.
In most projects, some snapshots are more significant than others, such as those used to indicate published releases, branches, or milestones.
When both the term baseline and either of label or tag are used together in the same context, label and tag usually refer to the mechanism within the tool of identifying or making the record of the snapshot, and baseline indicates the increased significance of any given label or tag.
Most formal discussion of configuration management uses the term baseline.
Distributed revision control[edit]
Main article: Distributed version control
Distributed revision control systems (DRCS) take a peer-to-peer approach, as opposed to the client-server approach of centralized systems. Rather than a single, central repository on which clients synchronize, each peer's working copy of the codebase is a bona-fide repository.[4] Distributed revision control conducts synchronization by exchanging patches (change-sets) from peer to peer. This results in some important differences from a centralized system:
No canonical, reference copy of the codebase exists by default; only working copies.
Common operations (such as commits, viewing history, and reverting changes) are fast, because there is no need to communicate with a central server.[1]:7
Rather, communication is only necessary when pushing or pulling changes to or from other peers.
Each working copy effectively functions as a remote backup of the codebase and of its change-history, providing inherent protection against data loss.[1]:4
Integration[edit]
Some of the more advanced revision-control tools offer many other facilities, allowing deeper integration with other tools and software-engineering processes. Plugins are often available for IDEs such as Oracle JDeveloper, IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse and Visual Studio. Delphi, NetBeans IDE, Xcode and GNU Emacs (via vc.el) come with integrated version control support.
Common terminology[edit]
Terminology can vary from system to system, but some terms in common usage include:[5]
Baseline
An approved revision of a document or source file from which subsequent changes can be made. See baselines, labels and tags.
Branch
A set of files under version control may be branched or forked at a point in time so that, from that time forward, two copies of those files may develop at different speeds or in different ways independently of each other.
Change
A change (or diff, or delta) represents a specific modification to a document under version control. The granularity of the modification considered a change varies between version control systems.
Change list
On many version control systems with atomic multi-change commits, a change list (or CL), change set, update, or patch identifies the set of changes made in a single commit. This can also represent a sequential view of the source code, allowing the examination of source "as of" any particular changelist ID.
Checkout
To check out (or co) is to create a local working copy from the repository. A user may specify a specific revision or obtain the latest. The term 'checkout' can also be used as a noun to describe the working copy.
Clone
Cloning means creating a repository containing the revisions from another repository. This is equivalent to pushing or pulling into an empty (newly initialized) repository. As a noun, two repositories can be said to be clones if they are kept synchronized, and contain the same revisions.
Commit
To commit (check in, ci or, more rarely, install, submit or record) is to write or merge the changes made in the working copy back to the repository. The terms 'commit' and 'checkin' can also be used as nouns to describe the new revision that is created as a result of committing.
Conflict
A conflict occurs when different parties make changes to the same document, and the system is unable to reconcile the changes. A user must resolve the conflict by combining the changes, or by selecting one change in favour of the other.
Delta compression
Most revision control software uses delta compression, which retains only the differences between successive versions of files. This allows for more efficient storage of many different versions of files.
Dynamic stream
A stream in which some or all file versions are mirrors of the parent stream's versions.
Export
exporting is the act of obtaining the files from the repository. It is similar to checking out except that it creates a clean directory tree without the version-control metadata used in a working copy. This is often used prior to publishing the contents, for example.
Fetch
See pull.
Forward integration
The process of merging changes made in the main trunk into a development (feature or team) branch.
Head
Also sometimes called tip, this refers to the most recent commit, either to the trunk or to a branch. The trunk and each branch have their own head, though HEAD is sometimes loosely used to refer to the trunk.[6]
Import
importing is the act of copying a local directory tree (that is not currently a working copy) into the repository for the first time.
Initialize
to create a new, empty repository.
Interleaved deltas
some revision control software uses Interleaved deltas, a method that allows storing the history of text based files in a more efficient way than by using Delta compression.
Label
See tag.
Mainline
Similar to trunk, but there can be a mainline for each branch.
Merge
A merge or integration is an operation in which two sets of changes are applied to a file or set of files. Some sample scenarios are as follows:
A user, working on a set of files, updates or syncs their working copy with changes made, and checked into the repository, by other users.[7]
A user tries to check in files that have been updated by others since the files were checked out, and the revision control software automatically merges the files (typically, after prompting the user if it should proceed with the automatic merge, and in some cases only doing so if the merge can be clearly and reasonably resolved).
A branch is created, the code in the files is independently edited, and the updated branch is later incorporated into a single, unified trunk.
A set of files is branched, a problem that existed before the branching is fixed in one branch, and the fix is then merged into the other branch. (This type of selective merge is sometimes known as a cherry pick to distinguish it from the complete merge in the previous case.)
Promote
The act of copying file content from a less controlled location into a more controlled location. For example, from a user's workspace into a repository, or from a stream to its parent.[8]
Pull, push
Copy revisions from one repository into another. Pull is initiated by the receiving repository, while push is initiated by the source. Fetch is sometimes used as a synonym for pull, or to mean a pull followed by an update.
Repository
The repository is where files' current and historical data are stored, often on a server. Sometimes also called a depot.
Resolve
The act of user intervention to address a conflict between different changes to the same document.
Reverse integration
The process of merging different team branches into the main trunk of the versioning system.
Revision
Also version: A version is any change in form. In SVK, a Revision is the state at a point in time of the entire tree in the repository.
Share
The act of making one file or folder available in multiple branches at the same time. When a shared file is changed in one branch, it is changed in other branches.
Stream
A container for branched files that has a known relationship to other such containers. Streams form a hierarchy; each stream can inherit various properties (like versions, namespace, workflow rules, subscribers, etc.) from its parent stream.
Tag
A tag or label refers to an important snapshot in time, consistent across many files. These files at that point may all be tagged with a user-friendly, meaningful name or revision number. See baselines, labels and tags.
Trunk
The unique line of development that is not a branch (sometimes also called Baseline, Mainline or Master)
Update
An update (or sync, but sync can also mean a combined push and pull) merges changes made in the repository (by other people, for example) into the local working copy. Update is also the term used by some CM tools (CM+, PLS, SMS) for the change package concept (see changelist). Synonymous with checkout in revision control systems that require each repository to have exactly one working copy (common in distributed systems)
Working copy
The working copy is the local copy of files from a repository, at a specific time or revision. All work done to the files in a repository is initially done on a working copy, hence the name. Conceptually, it is a sandbox.
See also[edit]
Change control
Changelog
Comparison of version control software
Distributed version control
List of version control software
Non-linear editing system
Software configuration management
Software versioning
Versioning file system
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ In this case, edit buffers are a secondary form of working copy, and not referred to as such.
Jump up ^ In principle two revisions can have identical timestamp, and thus cannot be ordered on a line. This is generally the case for separate repositories, though is also possible for simultaneous changes to several branches in a single repository. In these cases, the revisions can be thought of as a set of separate lines, one per repository or branch (or branch within a repository).
Jump up ^ The revision or repository "tree" should not be confused with the directory tree of files in a working copy.
Jump up ^ Note that if a new branch is based on HEAD, then topologically HEAD is no longer a tip, since it has a child.
Jump up ^ "Mainline" can also refer to the main path in a separate branch.
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c O'Sullivan, Bryan (2009). Mercurial: the Definitive Guide. Sebastopol: O'Reilly Media, Inc. ISBN 9780596555474. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
Jump up ^ "Google Docs", See what’s changed in a file, Google .
Jump up ^ For Engineering drawings, see Whiteprint#Document control, for some of the manual systems in place in the twentieth century, for example, the Engineering Procedures of Hughes Aircraft, each revision of which required approval by Lawrence A. Hyland; see also the approval procedures instituted by the U.S. government.
Jump up ^ Wheeler, David. "Comments on Open Source Software / Free Software (OSS/FS) Software Configuration Management (SCM) Systems". Retrieved May 8, 2007.
Jump up ^ Wingerd, Laura (2005). Practical Perforce. O'Reilly. ISBN 0-596-10185-6.
Jump up ^ Gregory, Gary (February 3, 2011). "Trunk vs. HEAD in Version Control Systems". Java, Eclipse, and other tech tidbits. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
Jump up ^ Collins-Sussman, Fitzpatrick & Pilato 2004, 1.5: SVN tour cycle resolve: ‘The G stands for merGed, which means that the file had local changes to begin with, but the changes coming from the repository didn't overlap with the local changes.’
Jump up ^ Concepts Manual (Version 4.7 ed.). Accurev. July 2008.
Bibliography[edit]
Collins-Sussman, Ben; Fitzpatrick, BW; Pilato, CM (2004), Version Control with Subversion, O'Reilly, ISBN 0-596-00448-6
External links[edit]
"Visual Guide to Version Control", Better explained .
Better SCM Initiative : Comparison at the Wayback Machine (archived April 11, 2013). A useful summary of different systems and their features.
Sink, Eric, "Source Control", SCM (how‐to) . The basics of version control.
hide
v
t
e
Version control software
Years, where available, indicate the date of first stable release. Systems with names in italics are no longer maintained or have planned end-of-life dates.
Local only
Free/open-source
RCS (1982)
SCCS (1972)
Proprietary
PVCS (1985)
QVCS (1991)
Client–server
Free/open-source
CVS (1986, 1990 in C)
CVSNT (1998)
QVCS Enterprise (1998)
Subversion (2000)
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ClearCase (1992)
CMVC (1994)
Dimensions CM (1980s)
DSEE (1984)
Endevor (1980s)
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Panvalet (1970s)
Perforce Helix (1995)
SCLM (1980s?)
Software Change Manager (1970s)
StarTeam (1995)
Surround SCM (2002)
Synergy (1990)
Team Concert (2008)
Team Foundation Server (2005)
Visual Studio Team Services (2014)
Vault (2003)
Visual SourceSafe (1994)
Distributed
Free/open-source
ArX (2003)
BitKeeper (2000)
Codeville (2005)
Darcs (2002)
DCVS (2002)
Fossil (2007)
Git (2005)
GNU arch (2001)
GNU Bazaar (2005)
Mercurial (2005)
Monotone (2003)
SVK (2003)
Veracity (2010)
Proprietary
TeamWare (1990s?)
Code Co-op (1997)
Plastic SCM (2006)
Team Foundation Server (2013)
Visual Studio Team Services (2014)
Concepts
Baseline
Branch
Changeset
Commit
Data comparison
Delta compression
Fork
Gated commit
Interleaved deltas
Merge
Repository
Tag
Trunk
Category
Comparison
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