Dependency Management
Dependency management is a software development practice that involves tracking, installing, updating, and resolving dependencies—external libraries, frameworks, or modules that a project relies on to function. It ensures that all required components are available, compatible, and properly versioned, typically using tools like package managers to automate these processes. This methodology helps maintain project stability, reproducibility, and security by managing external code dependencies efficiently.
Developers should learn and use dependency management to handle complex projects with multiple external libraries, as it prevents version conflicts, simplifies collaboration, and automates installation processes. It is essential in modern software development for ensuring consistent builds across different environments, reducing manual errors, and keeping dependencies up-to-date with security patches. Common use cases include web development with npm for JavaScript, pip for Python packages, or Maven for Java projects.