Pharo Smalltalk, in particular, when it comes to VCS, it's very similar to git actually. It uses source code files, it distributes them via zip files, it works locally instead of centralized, it supports merges, etc.
Pharo works well also with usual VCS because it can export code into source code files.
The image plays no role in VCS whatsoever because VCS is about code, not data, and image is mostly about live data and less about live code.
So any tool will and does work with Pharo outside the image. Problem arises with a majority of people that prefer to stay in the image; in that case you gain more control because you have more Pharo code to play with, but you lose a lot of power because we are a small community not able to compete with behemoth projects like git.
Another interesting thing which Pharo does emphasize is remote debugging: though not a Pharo monopoly by a long shot, we do have several libraries that can achieve this, and because the image format retains live state and live code execution, it's easy to resolve issues.
Besides the image format, the Fuel format has the advantage of storing only a fraction of the image. You can email this or share it via git or Dropbox. Like an image, a Fuel file is a binary file and, like the image, it can store live state and live code execution. This way, you can isolate live bugs and share them with your team, each one in its own Fuel file.
STON is also another alternative format which feels familiar for those that have worked with JSON.
So you see, you get the best of both worlds. You have the fantastic Smalltalk image, and you have ways to deal with the file-based world.
Pharo works well also with usual VCS because it can export code into source code files.
The image plays no role in VCS whatsoever because VCS is about code, not data, and image is mostly about live data and less about live code.
So any tool will and does work with Pharo outside the image. Problem arises with a majority of people that prefer to stay in the image; in that case you gain more control because you have more Pharo code to play with, but you lose a lot of power because we are a small community not able to compete with behemoth projects like git.
Another interesting thing which Pharo does emphasize is remote debugging: though not a Pharo monopoly by a long shot, we do have several libraries that can achieve this, and because the image format retains live state and live code execution, it's easy to resolve issues.
Besides the image format, the Fuel format has the advantage of storing only a fraction of the image. You can email this or share it via git or Dropbox. Like an image, a Fuel file is a binary file and, like the image, it can store live state and live code execution. This way, you can isolate live bugs and share them with your team, each one in its own Fuel file.
STON is also another alternative format which feels familiar for those that have worked with JSON.
So you see, you get the best of both worlds. You have the fantastic Smalltalk image, and you have ways to deal with the file-based world.