This is how Plastic SCM compares to some of the most widely used version control systems
Features
|
SVN |
Perforce |
TFS |
Hg |
Git |
Plastic |
| Score |
5.5 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
11.5 |
| High number of branches |
Trouble |
Trouble |
Trouble |
Yes i |
Yes i |
Yes i |
| Create branches fast |
Trouble. It soft copies, so it is not fast |
Trouble in big projects (>=100k files), takes minutes |
Trouble. It soft copies, it is not comfortable |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Big binary files (>500mb) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Trouble |
Trouble |
Yes i |
| Multiple database backends |
No |
No
Uses BerkeleyDb and it is well- known for locking |
Only SQL Server |
No
But the built-in one is fast |
No
But the built-in one is super fast |
Yes i |
| Centralized development |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Distributed development |
No |
Partial (latest releases added limited replication support) |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes i |
| Partial replication |
No
Doesn’t apply |
Can replicate a working changeset |
No
Doesn’t apply |
No |
No |
Yes i |
| ACL based security |
No |
No
But it has a quite flexible path- based security system |
Yes |
No |
No
Git security is one of its weakest points. |
Yes |
Exclusive checkout
(important for game dev and other industries) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes
Even when working distributed |
| Scalability under heavy load |
No
It doesn’t scale well |
Trouble |
|
Doesn’t
apply |
Doesn’t
apply |
Yes i |
| Branch and merge visualization |
Weak |
Weak |
Weak |
Weak |
Weak |
Yes i
Nothing compares to the Distributed Branch Explorer |
| Multi-platform support |
Yes |
Yes |
No
Windows only |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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.
|
SVN |
Perforce |
TFS |
Hg |
Git |
Plastic |
| Score |
0 |
55 |
40 |
40 |
60 |
85 |
| Move/change |
Fail |
Issue |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes
Issue with complex cases |
Yes |
| Change/delete |
Fail |
Yes |
Fail
With complex cases |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Move/delete |
Fail |
Issues with complex cases |
Issues when directories are involved |
Fail
When directories are involved |
Issues with complex cases |
Yes |
| Divergent move |
Fail |
Yes |
Fail
With directories |
Issue |
Issue |
Yes |
| Cycle move |
Fail |
Yes |
Fail |
Fail |
Fail |
Yes |
| Move/add |
Fail |
Fail
On complex, issue on simple |
Fail
On some cases |
Fail |
Issue |
Yes |
| Added evil twin |
Fail |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Issue |
High number of branches
The DVCS can deal with thousands of branches seamlessly.
Git and Hg cores don’t have issues with hundreds or thousands of branches, but their GUIs typically do.
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Create branches fast
Dealing with branches means you need to be able to create a branch of the entire codebase in a couple of seconds. If your version control takes minutes then you're in trouble
×
Big binary files (>500mb)
Many industries (including game develpment) require to deal with binaries bigger than 500MB. If this is the case then the version control needs handle big files correctly
×
Huge binary files
The open source DVCS have issues with huge binaries, which means projects in game development, aeronautics and so on have issues adopting them.
×
Huge binary files
Plastic SCM can handle big binaries (we’ve repositories with 1Tb files inside).
×
Multiple database backends
From SQL Server to SQLite, MySQL to Firebird.
×
Distributed development
Plastic SCM is the only version control able to work both in distributed and centralized modes, even at the same time on the same team.
×
Partial replication
It means replicating only part of a repository and not the entire history and be able to push changes back
×
Partial replication
×
Exclusive checkout
Some projects like games need to deal with binary files that can’t be merged. When that happens locking is mandatory.
×
Scalability under heavy load
Used by huge teams but locking up, can’t compare to Plastic
×
Scalability under heavy load
Plastic SCM is able to scale and handle thousands of concurrent users
×
Multi-platform support
Mac and Linux supported. Guis are clearly better on Windows. This is still a weak point.
×