Collaborate and manage multiple versions of code, data and documents with Git. Guiding you through the installation, commands and branching, using Git in a team environment, correcting errors and finally unlocking Git's full potential to make your work easier and more enjoyable.

Jump Start Git

Preface

In my freshman year in college, I started work on my first intranet application. The files in the main directory of the partially functioning application looked something like Figure 1.1:

Introduction

Now that we have a basic concept of what a version control system does, let’s get our feet wet with Git.

Getting Started with Git

In Chapter 1, I talked about my one-time fear of trying out new things in a project. What if I tried something ambitious and it broke everything that was working earlier? This problem is solved by the use of branches in Git.

Branching in Git

So far, we've looked at managing source code by starting a Git project, working with branches, and pushing code to a remote repository. In this chapter, we’ll focus on the features of Git that help you contribute in a team.

Using Git in a Team

In the last few chapters, we’ve built a good foundation in Git basics. We’ve gone through the basic Git commands, followed by some more advanced processes that help you contribute to an organization. Up to this point, we haven’t discussed how to fix mistakes you might make while working with Git.

Correcting Errors While Working With Git

So far in this book, we’ve covered the fundamentals of Git and some of its advanced commands. In this chapter, we’ll look at more of these advanced commands.

Unlocking Git’s Full Potential

Up till now, we've performed all our Git-related actions through the terminal, looking in detail at what each command does. The advantage of terminal commands is that they work across all platforms. In Chapter 1, I mentioned that there are various GUI tools that can be used instead of the terminal. Although GUI tools can appear to make life simpler, they work differently across the three major operating systems, which is why I’ve avoided their use so far.

Git GUI Tools

As this book has guided you through the uses of Git, the focus has been on using it to manage a codebase. This is the most common use for Git, but certainly not the only one. In this concluding chapter, I’d like to discuss Git's meteoric rise, and then give you a glimpse of other innovative uses of Git, as well as its limitations, alternatives to Git, and what the future holds.

Community Questions