Need Assistance with Complex Code Merging in Version Control

[Expertopinionsa]

Hey there HubSpot community,

I hope everyone's coding journey is going well. I've encountered a bit of a challenge in my recent software development project and could really use your expertise.

Here's the situation, I was initially working on a feature branch in Git for a new feature implementation. With the help of a software services provider, I managed to resolve conflicts and successfully merge my changes into the main development branch. However, a new twist has emerged.

In a separate part of the project, I had to collaborate with another developer who was also working on a feature branch. Now, we need to merge our changes together, and that's where I'm hitting a roadblock. I'm not sure how to handle the merging of two distinct feature branches into the main branch without causing conflicts or overwriting each other's work.

I did consult the software services provider again, but this particular situation seems a bit more intricate than the previous one. If anyone has experience dealing with complex code merging scenarios, especially when involving multiple feature branches, I'd greatly appreciate your insights.

Specifically, I'm looking for advice on:

Strategies for handling concurrent development in Git branches.

Best practices for resolving conflicts between different feature branches.

Any tools or resources that could simplify the merging process.

Your guidance would be invaluable to me, and I believe our community's collective knowledge can help me overcome this challenge. Feel free to share your thoughts here, or if you prefer, you can reach out to me directly.

Thank you in advance for your assistance!

[Expertopinionsa]

Hello,

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate your insights and advice.

@Jaycee_Lewis , thank you for reaching out to the community for assistance, and thank you, @Mike_Eastwood, for sharing your experiences.

I agree that it's best to avoid conflicts in advance by working on different parts of the code. However, in this case, I was already working on a feature branch when the other developer started working on their own feature branch. We didn't realize that we were working on the same code until we were ready to merge our changes.

I'm still learning about the best practices for resolving conflicts between different feature branches. I've learnt from a group that it's helpful to use a merge tool like Git Merge Tool or Beyond Compare. These tools can help you visualize the conflicts and resolve them more easily.

I'm also looking for tools or resources that could simplify the merging process. I've heard about some CICD tools that can help automate the merging process. I'm going to do some research on these tools and see if they would be a good fit for our team.

Thanks again for your help. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

[Mike_Eastwood]

I feel your pain @Expertopinionsa 

We've got a small team so it's easier for us to avoid conflicts in advance - we typically only work on one part of the code, per person, at any one time to avoid messy merges.

Features branches are good but you can still collide on core code.

I don't have any good advice for cleaning up your old merges other than lots of reading and merging.

Good luck

Mike

p.s. Thanks for the mention @Jaycee_Lewis 

[Jaycee_Lewis]

Hi, @Expertopinionsa 👋 It sounds like you have a complex situation on your hands. I'd like to invite some of our community members to the conversation. Hey, @nikodev @Kevin-C @Phil_Vallender @Mike_Eastwood @JBeatty do you have any tips or experience you can share with @Expertopinionsa? 

Looking at their post, these are their questions:

• Strategies for handling concurrent development in Git branches.

• Best practices for resolving conflicts between different feature branches.

• Any tools or resources that could simplify the merging process.

Thank you! — Jaycee