This is unbelievable. I know that there are developers out there not using Source Code Control (SCC) systems, but I treat them as either hobbyists or amateurs. Developing without SCC is a disaster waiting to happen, if you ask me.

Naturally, I was once developing without SCC too. But as soon as I was given a chance to use one (even if it was a crappy Visual SourceSafe at the time) there was no turning back. That was in 1997 and I’ve never developed anything without SCC since then. All of that work was for someone else – I was either an employee or a contractor. But when the time came to work for myself, I took extra care to use a good SCC for my own business, even if I am only a single developer.

If you followed the above link you will notice that there are several entrepreneurs – µISVs with a single developer usually – who have been (successfully?) living off of their software for years not using SCC.

I just don’t get it. Is changing the habits that hard? Aren't the advantages of using SCC far better than disadvantages? There are at least three free SCC systems out there – Visual SourceSafe¹, Subversion and Vault². Some integrate into development tools well, some have separate GUIs, some do both and some are best used from the command line – there’s something for everyone.

I am amazed at the people’s ability to survive for years without a SCC. Apparently, this is good news for the commercial SCC systems out there – there are developers who are aware of the existence of SCC systems but have not tried them yet.

¹Visual Source Safe is not free, but most of the µISVs on the Microsoft Windows platform are Empower program members and get it with the rest of the development tools.

²Vault is free for a singe user which is exactly the scenario for most of µISVs.