What is Git?
Git is a widely used version control system that helps developers manage and track changes in their code.
Originally created by Linus Torvalds in 2005, Git has been actively maintained by Junio Hamano since then
.
With Git, you can:
- Keep a detailed history of code changes
- See who made specific changes and when
- Collaborate seamlessly with other developers on the same project
- In short, Git makes it easier to work on software projects, whether you’re coding solo or as part of a team.
Key Git Concepts
Repository: A special folder where Git keeps track of your project and its entire history.
Clone: Create a local copy of a remote repository on your computer.
Stage: Select which changes you want Git to include in your next commit.
Commit: Record a snapshot of the staged changes in your project’s history.
Branch: Work on different features, experiments, or versions separately without affecting the main project.
Merge: Combine changes from one branch into another, bringing work together.
Pull: Download and integrate the latest changes from a remote repository into your local copy.
Push: Upload your local commits to a remote repository so others can access them.
Working with Git
- Start by initializing Git in a folder to turn it into a repository.
- Git creates a hidden directory inside the folder to track all changes.
- Whenever you change, add, or delete a file, Git marks it as modified.
- You choose which of these modified files to stage for the next commit.
- Once staged, you commit the files, which tells Git to save a permanent snapshot of them.
- Git keeps a complete history of all commits, so you can review or revert to any previous state.
- Instead of saving a separate full copy of the entire project each time, Git efficiently tracks the differences (changes) between commits.
Why Use Git?
- Trusted by over 70% of developers worldwide.
- Enables teams to collaborate seamlessly, no matter where they are.
- Keeps a complete history of every change in your project.
- Makes it easy to roll back to earlier versions when needed.
What is GitHub?
- GitHub is different from Git.
- While Git is a version control system, GitHub provides tools and a platform built around Git.
- GitHub is the world’s largest host for source code and has been part of Microsoft since 2018.
- In this tutorial, we’ll learn how to use Git together with GitHub.
