Overview
Modern software is built on a vast ecosystem of open-source libraries. Dependency management ensures that these libraries are compatible, secure, and easily updatable.
Key Concepts
- Package Manager: Tools like npm, pip, Maven, or Go Modules that automate the installation of dependencies.
- Lock Files: Files (e.g.,
package-lock.json,Gemfile.lock) that ensure every developer and environment uses the exact same versions of dependencies. - Transitive Dependencies: Dependencies of your dependencies.
- Vulnerability Scanning: Automatically checking for known security flaws in libraries (e.g., using Snyk or Dependabot).
Benefits
- Reproducibility: Ensures the project builds the same way every time.
- Security: Helps keep libraries up to date with the latest security patches.