GitLab – Free Platform for Software Development, Testing, and Deployment

Developer Tools
October 10, 2024
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6 minutes read

GitLab is a free and open-source version control platform that allows users to manage code repositories using Git. It’s available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The term “Git” for version control was created by Linus Torvalds, the same programmer who created the Linux operating system, in 2005.

GitLab Functionalities

GitLab has two hosting modalities. It can be installed as a self-managed platform, where the user has full control. The other modality is SaaS (Software as a Service), which doesn’t require maintenance from the user. These two usage modalities significantly expand the application possibilities of this platform.

GitLab uses Git to track changes in code. Due to the rich set of tools Git possesses, all activities related to software development can be performed in one place. Thus, teams can work on different branches of software and subsequently integrate changes. All changes are recorded, making it easy to revert to earlier code versions.

Perhaps the most significant functionality of GitLab is its continuous integration and delivery system (CI/CD system). Teams can automatically run builds, tests, and deployment processes. These functions enable automatic testing, improving software quality and accelerating the development cycle. GitLab allows conflict resolution in teamwork without data loss.

GitLab has quality tools for automated testing, security analysis, and monitoring. The platform enables complete visibility of application development. GitLab offers a high degree of collaborative code development through Merge Requests. This way, developers review changes and discuss code before including it in the main version. GitLab has built-in functions for automatic code checking for known vulnerabilities and for tracking application performance.

What is Git (version control) in GitLab?

For readers who haven’t encountered platforms like GitLab or GitHub, we’ll briefly explain version control. It’s a tool that helps users track all changes made to a project over time. Throughout the work on a project, it constantly undergoes changes and improvements: new parts are added, errors are corrected, and the format is changed. To save all created versions, so you could later return to one of the previous variants, you would have to save a new version of the document or file you’re working on after each change. Git automates this process for you and stores all changes optimally. Each time you confirm you’ve made a change, you just need to add its description. This creates a history of changes. You can return to an old version without deleting newer changes. So: Git is a tool that allows programmers and teams to track changes in code, documents, or any other files, as well as to collaborate efficiently on software development.

GitLab vs. GitHub

GitHub and GitLab are the two most popular platforms for code version control and collaboration in software development. They have many similar functionalities, primarily the use of Git. GitLab differs in integrated CI/CD functionalities, while GitHub requires third-party tools for this. Also, GitLab offers more complete integration, making it a better platform for the entire application development lifecycle. GitHub is a platform that mostly has closed source code. GitLab is an open-source platform in the GitLab Community Edition version. There's also a paid version, GitLab Enterprise Edition, with additional functionalities and some closed-source parts. GitLab can also be hosted as self-managed. GitHub is owned by Microsoft, while GitLab is an independent company with leadership teams worldwide.

Who is GitLab for?

Although GitLab’s basic functionalities can be seen through tracking changes, version control, and team collaboration, this is a very complex set of version control tools. The complexity is particularly emphasized in the self-managed version, which requires greater technical knowledge and resources. Although GitLab Community Edition is free, advanced functionalities come with a high price in commercial plans.

GitLab is among the leading platforms that support all stages of software development from planning and coding to testing, distribution, and monitoring. GitLab is an extremely powerful and flexible platform that has become a standard for development teams worldwide. This is a unique solution for software development, testing, and distribution.

Whether you’re an individual just starting with programming, a team developing commercial applications, or an organization managing complex software projects, GitLab offers tools and resources that facilitate work and encourage development. In a world where software is increasingly present, GitLab has become an indispensable platform.

On the page we provided in the Download section, the emphasis is primarily on Unix-like operating systems, although solutions for Windows are also offered. It should be mentioned that there are also versions of GitLab for mobile platforms Android and iOS, but they are not officially supported.

Platform:
Windows, macOS, and Linux