Plastic SCM compared
This is how Plastic SCM compares to some of the most widely used version control systems
Features
| Plastic | Git | Perforce | Subversion | TFS | Hg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 11.5 | 5 | 7 | 5.5 | 6 | 5 |
| High number of branches | Yes | Yes | Trouble | Trouble | Trouble | Yes |
| Create branches fast | Yes | Yes | Trouble in big projects (>=100k files), takes minutes | Trouble. It soft copies, so it is not fast | Trouble. It soft copies, it is not comfortable | Yes |
| Big binary files (>500mb) | Yes | Trouble | Yes | Yes | Yes | Trouble |
| Multiple database backends | Yes |
No
But the built-in one is super fast
|
No
Uses BerkeleyDb and it is well-known for locking
|
No | Only SQL Server |
No
But the built-in one is fast
|
| Centralized development | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Distributed development | Yes | Yes | Partial (latest releases added limited replication support) | No | No | Yes |
| Partial replication | Yes | No | Can replicate a working changeset |
No
Doesn't apply
|
No
Doesn't apply
|
No |
| ACL based security | Yes |
No
Git security is one of its weakest points
|
No
But it has a quite flexible path- based security system
|
No | Yes | No |
|
Exclusive checkout
(important for game dev and other industries)
|
Yes
Even when working distributed
|
No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Scalability under heavy load | Yes | Doesn't apply | Trouble |
No
It doesn't scale well
|
Doesn't apply | |
| Branch and merge visualization |
Yes
Nothing compares to the Distributed Branch Explorer
|
Weak | Weak | Weak | Weak | Weak |
| Multi-platform support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
No
Windows only
|
Yes |
| Score | 11.5 | 5 | 7 | 5.5 | 6 | 5 |
| Plastic | Git | Perforce | Subversion | TFS | Hg |
Merging
Merging is one of the top features to check when looking for a new version control. The following table explains how the different version controls score when they have to deal with a good number of merge scenarios.
| Plastic | Git | Perforce | Subversion | TFS | Hg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 85 | 60 | 55 | 0 | 40 | 40 |
| Move/change | Yes |
Yes
Issue with complex cases
|
Issue | Fail | Yes | Yes |
| Change/delete | Yes | Yes | Yes | Fail |
Fail
With complex cases
|
Yes |
| Move/delete | Yes | Issues with complex cases | Issues with complex cases | Fail | Issues when directories are involved |
Fail
When directories are involved
|
| Divergent move | Yes | Issue | Yes | Fail |
Fail
With directories
|
Issue |
| Cycle move | Yes | Fail | Yes | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Add/move | Yes | Issue |
Fail
On complex, issue on simple
|
Fail |
Fail
On some cases
|
Fail |
| Added evil twin | Issue | Yes | Yes | Fail | Yes | Yes |
