I am a beginner developer and I have been wondering from the start, how do professional use tools like GIT and Subversion (I don't have a very good understanding about these tools), to fulfill their project's needs. If they do use it, how would I set up something like that?
My applications are not so large and I am not working in a team yet, would they be of huge help to me?
There are questions on this site about how to use the tools, but I need beginner support.
Best Answer
Source control is ubiquitous--one might even say you can't call yourself a professional developer if you are not using it. Even when developing alone, source control still offers quite a few benefits. In the end it provides both a history and an extensive undo path. It also frees you up to experiment a lot more, secure in the knowledge that if you do not like the new version, you can always switch back to what you had before.
That said, workflows, even within a source control system like Subversion or Git, vary immensely from team to team. The best place to start is probably to pick a source control system and get familiar with its standard workflows (keeping in your head that you will have to switch workflows throughout your professional life).
For getting started, I would recommend Git. I am a Git fan, but more specifically choosing Git gets allows you to begin by working serverless and only set up a server when it makes sense for you. Subversion, on the other hand, requires a server and setting one up, while not extremely difficult, is daunting when you are unfamiliar with that sort of thing.
Here is a good overview of the some good rules of thumb for source control in general: http://scottonwriting.net/sowblog/archive/2008/11/13/163320.aspx
When working by yourself, you do not need a good deal of workflow. Commit early, commit often. If you start rolling out versions, tag your releases. Create branches for experiments or long divergent work (Git makes this cheaper and simpler than Subversion does).