Coding as a team [closed]

Question

Lets say that me and my friend are trying to work on same software project. We are not located on same location but we wish to be as productive is possible.

We are using Visual Studio 2005, the code has to be written in C/C++ and at this moment we send the code using zip files.

My questions are:

1) what approach should be used sharing code in order to be more productive.

2) are there any free online platforms good for that?

3) do you have any advice for us?

ps: I own a webserver account with linux hosting. What can i install on that server in order to improve our working status.

Answer 1

A source control server, ala svn server, or whichever is your preference.

You can commit your code, and your friend can then update his based on your changes, without having to send or receive email. Most source control suites also have built-in merge handling too, so you can see the changes he made and solve any collisions with any changes you've made.

Update
People have begun recommending some good online source control, so I'll also add links to other questions for online source control hosts. Have a look at those too.