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Git Essentials
Git Essentials

Git Essentials: Create, merge, and distribute code with Git, the most powerful and flexible versioning system available

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Git Essentials

Chapter 2. Git Fundamentals – Working Locally

In this chapter, we will go deep into some of the fundamentals of Git. It is essential to understand how Git thinks about files, its way of tracking the history of commits, and all the basic commands that we need to master in order to become proficient.

Repository structure and file status life cycle

The first thing to understand while working with Git is how it manages files and folders within the repository. This is the time to analyze a default repository structure.

The working directory

In Chapter 1, Getting Started with Git, we created an empty folder and initialized a new repository using the git init command (in C:\Repos\MyFirstRepo). Starting from now, we will call this folder the working directory. A folder that contains an initialized Git repository is a working directory. You can move the working directory around your file system without losing or corrupting your repository.

Within the working directory, you also learned that there is a .git directory. Let's call it the git directory from now on. In the git directory there are files and folders that compose our repository. Thanks to this, we can track the file status, configure the repository, and so on.

File statuses

In Chapter 1, Getting Started with Git, we used two different...

Working with repositories

Let's get our hands dirty!

If you are reading this book, you are probably a programmer, as I am. Using a programming language and its source and binary files to exercise could be fine. However, I don't want to distract you from understanding a language you probably don't use every day. So, let's settle things once and for all. When needed, I will use a nice markup language called Markdown (see http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/).

Apart from being simple yet powerful, Markdown silently became the favorite choice while typing readme files (for example, GitHub uses it extensively) or comments in forums or other online discussion places, such as StackOverflow. Mastering it is not our goal, but to be able to do the basic things is surely a skill that can be useful in the future.

Before you proceed, create a new folder for exercises, for example, C:\Repos\Exercises. We will use different folders for different exercises.

Unstaging a file

Consider...

Viewing the history

Let's continue where we left off in Chapter 1, Getting Started with Git. Walk into C:\Repos\MyFirstRepo and start a new Bash shell using the right-click shortcut. Now, use the git log command to see the history of our repository, as shown in this screenshot:

Viewing the history

The git log command is very useful and powerful. With this command, we can get all the commits that we did one by one, each one with its most important details. It's now time to become more familiar with them.

Anatomy of a commit

Commits are the building blocks of a repository. Every repository is nothing more than an ordered sequence of commits. If you have a math background, you have probably already identified an acyclic direct graph in it.

The commit snapshot

Every time we commit something, Git wraps all the files included in a binary blob file. This is one of the most important characteristics of Git. While other versioning systems save files one by one (perhaps using deltas), Git produces a snapshot every...

Taking another way – Git branching

Now, it's time to introduce one of the most used features of a versioning system: branching. This is a thing that you will use extensively and a thing that Git does well.

Anatomy of branches

A branch is essentially another way your repository takes. While programming, you will use branches to experiment with changes, without breaking the working code. You will use them to keep track of some extensive work, such as the development of a new feature, to maintain different versions or releases of your project. To put it simply, you will use it always.

When in a Git repository, you are always in a branch. If you pay attention to the Bash shell, you can easily find the branch that you are on at the moment. It is always at the prompt, within brackets, as shown here:

Anatomy of branches

The master branch is, conventionally, the default branch. When you do your first commit in a brand new repo, you actually do the first commit in the master branch.

During the course of the...

Stashing

Working of different features in parallel does not make a developer happy, but sometimes it happens. So, at a certain point, we have to break the work on a branch and switch to another one. However, sometimes, we have some modifications that are not ready to be committed, because they are partial, inconsistent, or even won't compile. In this situation, Git prevents you from switching to another branch. You can only switch from one branch to another if you are in a clean state:

Stashing

To quickly resolve this situation, we can stash the modifications, putting them into a sort of box, ready to be unboxed at a later time.

Stashing is as simple as typing the git stash command. A default description will be added to your stash, and then modifications will be reverted to get back in a clean state:

Stashing

To list actual stashes, you can use the list subcommand:

Stashing

Once you have done the other work, you can go back to the previous branch and apply the stash to get back to the previous "work in progress...

Repository structure and file status life cycle


The first thing to understand while working with Git is how it manages files and folders within the repository. This is the time to analyze a default repository structure.

The working directory

In Chapter 1, Getting Started with Git, we created an empty folder and initialized a new repository using the git init command (in C:\Repos\MyFirstRepo). Starting from now, we will call this folder the working directory. A folder that contains an initialized Git repository is a working directory. You can move the working directory around your file system without losing or corrupting your repository.

Within the working directory, you also learned that there is a .git directory. Let's call it the git directory from now on. In the git directory there are files and folders that compose our repository. Thanks to this, we can track the file status, configure the repository, and so on.

File statuses

In Chapter 1, Getting Started with Git, we used two different...

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Description

If you are a software developer with little or no experience of versioning systems, or are familiar with other centralized versioning systems, then this book is for you. If you have some experience working with command lines or using Linux admin or just using Unix and want to know more about Git, then this book is ideal for you.

Who is this book for?

If you are a software developer with little or no experience of versioning systems, or are familiar with other centralized versioning systems, then this book is for you. If you have some experience working with command lines or using Linux admin or just using Unix and want to know more about Git, then this book is ideal for you.

What you will learn

  • Create, branch, and merge a local repository
  • Transport your work to a remote repository working in a centralized manner
  • Organize your source code using feature branches
  • Organize the development flow
  • Get a meaningful changelog using clear commit messages
  • Collaborate with teammates without any impediments
  • Experiment with your code without affecting functional code files
  • Explore some tools used to migrate to Git from other versioning systems without losing your development history
  • Extend your knowledge of Git with some useful resources
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Length: 168 pages
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Table of Contents

8 Chapters
1. Getting Started with Git Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Git Fundamentals – Working Locally Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Git Fundamentals – Working Remotely Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Git Fundamentals – Niche Concepts, Configurations, and Commands Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Obtaining the Most – Good Commits and Workflows Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Migrating to Git Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Git Resources Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.9
(9 Ratings)
5 star 55.6%
4 star 0%
3 star 33.3%
2 star 0%
1 star 11.1%
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Krunal Jhaveri Jul 10, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I bought the kindle copy for it, and it was a great ready to get all my basics right for git. Its really helpful to ace yourself in this technology world with one of the most powerful version control systems. I suggested one reading it once every week and keep it handy to get your git essentials in place
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Paul W Oct 06, 2015
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Good solid explanations of both the overall concepts and tricky details. Separate chapter for those migrating from Subversion.
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D. Bowser Jun 10, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This is an awesome text for learning and reviewing GIT functions. I work with new developers/designers regularly and explaining GIT can be rough if they've never used a VCS (version control system) before. Mr. Santacroce does an excellent job of breaking down the essentials so that you feel like a GIT ninja! I would recommend this book for both beginners and experienced users as there are always new things to learn and the diagrams make complicated code machinations seem like routine procedures. GIT is a valuable dev tool, but most users only scratch the surface of its capabilities. With this text you can take your GIT game to the next level!
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zl Jan 18, 2016
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good book. Real life examples.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
R. Alexander Sep 05, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I had been interested in learning about Git and GitHub for a long time, but always had trouble getting started. Based on previous reviews of Git Essentials, I decided to give it a try. I dove straight in and worked through the whole book relatively quickly. I now feel that I have a solid understanding of Git functionality and best practices. Ferdinando Santacroce doesn't bore you with a million little details or too much theory, and at the same time, he doesn't make you feel like you're missing part of the story by leaving too much out. Further, Git Essentials has a nice balance of seriousness and humor. It stays on point without being dry.If you know what Git is and would like to incorporate it into your workflow, I'd highly recommend this book as a means for getting started.
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