What is version control and why is it important in collaboration?

• A. Tracking changes and managing revisions to code/docs; enables collaboration and rollback.
• B. It compresses files to save disk space.
• C. It stores data in a relational database.
• D. It automatically fixes bugs in code.

Answer: (A)

Version control is a system for tracking changes to files over time. It records who made each change, what was changed, and when, so you can review history and understand how a project evolved. In collaboration, it lets multiple people work on the same codebase without overwriting each other, using branches to develop features independently and then merging them back. Each change is saved as a commit with a description, so you can compare versions, revert to earlier states, or apply specific updates as needed. This creates a reliable workflow, easier collaboration, and safe rollbacks if something goes wrong. The other options describe different ideas—compressing files saves disk space, storing data in a relational database, and automatic bug fixing isn’t what version control does.