Merging (also called integration) in revision control, is a fundamental operation that reconciles multiple changes made to a revision-controlled collection of files. Most often, it is necessary when a file is modified by two people on two different computers at the same time. When two branches are merged, the result is a single collection of files that contains both sets of changes.
In some cases, the merge can be performed automatically, because...
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Merging (also called integration) in revision control, is a fundamental operation that reconciles multiple changes made to a revision-controlled collection of files. Most often, it is necessary when a file is modified by two people on two different computers at the same time. When two branches are merged, the result is a single collection of files that contains both sets of changes.
In some cases, the merge can be performed automatically, because the changes do not conflict. In other cases, a person must decide exactly what the resulting files should contain. Many revision control software tools include merge capabilities.
Merge can be used as a verb ("to merge branches"), but can also be a noun ("this merge will be difficult").
There are two primary types of merges performed by automated merge tools: 2-way merge and 3-way merge. A 3-way merge is a more powerful and reliable method of merging than is afforded by the 2-way merge.
A two-way merge performs an automated difference...
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