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Gerrit Code Review vs GitLab: What are the differences?
Gerrit Code Review and GitLab are both popular tools used for version control and code collaboration. Let's explore the key differences between Gerrit Code Review and GitLab.
Code Review Process: Gerrit Code Review is specifically designed for code reviews. It offers a highly configurable and streamlined code review process with features like inline commenting, line-by-line change comparison, and approval workflows. GitLab, on the other hand, provides a more integrated approach, combining code review with other project management features such as issue tracking and continuous integration.
Access Control: Gerrit Code Review places a strong emphasis on access control and permissions. It allows administrators to define fine-grained access rules for each repository, branch, or even individual files. This level of control is especially useful in large organizations with strict security requirements. GitLab also provides access control features but with a more simplified approach, making it easier to manage permissions in smaller teams.
Integration with CI/CD: GitLab has a comprehensive integrated CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) pipeline that allows developers to automate build, test, and deployment processes. This means that GitLab provides a more seamless and streamlined experience when it comes to integrating code changes with the development and deployment workflow. Gerrit Code Review, on the other hand, focuses primarily on code review and does not have built-in CI/CD functionality.
Issue Tracking and Project Management: GitLab offers a complete suite of project management features, including issue tracking, Kanban boards, and milestone tracking. This makes it convenient for teams to have all project-related activities in one place. Gerrit Code Review, on the other hand, does not prioritize project management features and is primarily focused on code review.
Community and Ecosystem: GitLab has a larger and more active community compared to Gerrit Code Review. This means there is a wider range of plugins, integrations, and community-contributed resources available for GitLab users. Gerrit has a more niche user base, primarily focused on organizations with a strong code review culture.
User Interface and User Experience: GitLab provides a more polished and user-friendly interface with a modern and intuitive design. It offers a customizable dashboard that allows users to easily track their projects and tasks. Gerrit Code Review, while functional, has a more minimalistic and less visually appealing interface.
In summary, Gerrit Code Review focuses primarily on providing a streamlined and configurable code review process with strong access control. GitLab, on the other hand, offers a more integrated approach with features like built-in CI/CD, project management, and a larger community.
I first used BitBucket because it had private repo's, and it didn't disappoint me. Also with the smooth integration of Jira, the decision to use BitBucket as a full application maintenance service was as easy as 1, 2, 3.
I honestly love BitBucket, by the looks, by the UI, and the smooth integration with Tower.
Do you review your Pull/Merge Request before assigning Reviewers?
If you work in a team opening a Pull Request (or Merge Request) looks appropriate. However, have you ever thought about opening a Pull/Merge Request when working by yourself? Here's a checklist of things you can review in your own:
- Pick the correct target branch
- Make Drafts explicit
- Name things properly
- Ask help for tools
- Remove the noise
- Fetch necessary data
- Understand Mergeability
- Pass the message
- Add screenshots
- Be found in the future
- Comment inline in your changes
Read the blog post for more detailed explanation for each item :D
What else do you review before asking for code review?
Using an inclusive language is crucial for fostering a diverse culture. Git has changed the naming conventions to be more language-inclusive, and so you should change. Our development tools, like GitHub and GitLab, already supports the change.
SourceLevel deals very nicely with repositories that changed the master branch to a more appropriate word. Besides, you can use the grep linter the look for exclusive terms contained in the source code.
As the inclusive language gap may happen in other aspects of our lives, have you already thought about them?
One of the magic tricks git performs is the ability to rewrite log history. You can do it in many ways, but git rebase -i
is the one I most use. With this command, It’s possible to switch commits order, remove a commit, squash two or more commits, or edit, for instance.
It’s particularly useful to run it before opening a pull request. It allows developers to “clean up” the mess and organize commits before submitting to review. If you follow the practice 3 and 4, then the list of commits should look very similar to a task list. It should reveal the rationale you had, telling the story of how you end up with that final code.
Out of most of the VCS solutions out there, we found Gitlab was the most feature complete with a free community edition. Their DevSecops offering is also a very robust solution. Gitlab CI/CD was quite easy to setup and the direct integration with your VCS + CI/CD is also a bonus. Out of the box integration with major cloud providers, alerting through instant messages etc. are all extremely convenient. We push our CI/CD updates to MS Teams.
Gitlab as A LOT of features that GitHub and Azure DevOps are missing. Even if both GH and Azure are backed by Microsoft, GitLab being open source has a faster upgrade rate and the hosted by gitlab.com solution seems more appealing than anything else! Quick win: the UI is way better and the Pipeline is way easier to setup on GitLab!
At DeployPlace we use self-hosted GitLab, we have chosen GitLab as most of us are familiar with it. We are happy with all features GitLab provides, I can’t imagine our life without integrated GitLab CI. Another important feature for us is integrated code review tool, we use it every day, we use merge requests, code reviews, branching. To be honest, most of us have GitHub accounts as well, we like to contribute in open source, and we want to be a part of the tech community, but lack of solutions from GitHub in the area of CI doesn’t let us chose it for our projects.
Pros of Gerrit Code Review
- Code review13
- Good workflow11
- Cleaner repository story10
- Open source9
- Good integration with Jenkins9
- Unlimited repo support5
- Comparison dashboard2
Pros of GitLab
- Self hosted508
- Free430
- Has community edition339
- Easy setup242
- Familiar interface240
- Includes many features, including ci137
- Nice UI113
- Good integration with gitlabci84
- Simple setup57
- Free private repository34
- Has an official mobile app34
- Continuous Integration31
- Open source, great ui (like github)22
- Slack Integration18
- Full CI flow14
- Free and unlimited private git repos11
- User, group, and project access management is simple10
- All in one (Git, CI, Agile..)9
- Built-in CI8
- Intuitive UI8
- Both public and private Repositories6
- Full DevOps suite with Git6
- Build/pipeline definition alongside code5
- CI5
- So easy to use5
- Integrated Docker Registry5
- It's powerful source code management tool5
- Issue system4
- Dockerized4
- Unlimited free repos & collaborators4
- Security and Stable4
- On-premises4
- It's fully integrated4
- Mattermost Chat client4
- Excellent4
- Great for team collaboration3
- Built-in Docker Registry3
- Low maintenance cost due omnibus-deployment3
- I like the its runners and executors feature3
- Free private repos3
- Because is the best remote host for git repositories3
- Not Microsoft Owned3
- Opensource3
- Groups of groups2
- Powerful software planning and maintaining tools2
- Review Apps feature2
- Kubernetes integration with GitLab CI2
- It includes everything I need, all packaged with docker2
- Multilingual interface2
- HipChat intergration2
- Powerful Continuous Integration System2
- One-click install through DigitalOcean2
- The dashboard with deployed environments2
- Native CI2
- Many private repo2
- Kubernetes Integration2
- Published IP list for whitelisting (gl-infra#434)2
- Wounderful2
- Beautiful2
- Supports Radius/Ldap & Browser Code Edits1
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Cons of Gerrit Code Review
Cons of GitLab
- Slow ui performance28
- Introduce breaking bugs every release8
- Insecure (no published IP list for whitelisting)6
- Built-in Docker Registry2
- Review Apps feature1