A component of software configuration management (aka SCM), version control, also known as revision control or source control, is the management of changes to files and source. 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.
Revision control can be very confusing to someone new, as you can see there are many ways to say the exact same thing. This can make it difficult to pick up the concepts. There are also many different kinds as you can see here. However, the major one I would hope everyone would be familiar with is GIT, and SVN for the older folks. JJ… 😛
Git, invented by Linus Torvalds as mentioned here is the most prolific and widely used one out currently. I also have a links under my Learning Resources page that are great for learning GIT. Please keep in mind that GIT, and GitHub or two differnt things. One is the software/method, and the other is a service that simply sells said software as a service.