All of the programs and source links are on this wiki page:
http://wiki.eqemulator.org/p?Complet...Guide&frm=Main
(Maps, quests, etc... can be gotten from the eqemu_server.pl script when running manually - which, you probably already have.)
The updating that occurs when you run world is for the database.
It checks what version the binaries are at, and then updates accordingly.
The only time you really need to worry code changes are when you pull in new server code to compile - stash save is a wonderful tool.
It is possible to lose database changes when pulling in new server code due to a version update - or in super rare cases, you change something that triggers an already
applied change again.
(There is a tool in the server script that will back-up your current database - fairly quickly..)
TortoiseGit is a wonderful tool for menu-driven git activities.