Git Pocket Guide

Chapter 1. Understanding Git

In this initial chapter, we discuss how Git operates, defining important terms and concepts you should understand in order to use Git effectively.

Some tools and technologies lend themselves to a “black-box” approach, in which new users don’t pay too much attention to how a tool works under the hood. You concentrate first on learning to manipulate the tool; the “why” and “how” can come later. Git’s particular design, however, is better served by the opposite approach, in that a number of fundamental internal design decisions are reflected directly in how you use it. By understanding up front and in reasonable detail several key points about its operation, you will be able to come up to speed with Git more quickly and confidently, and be better prepared to continue learning on your own.

Thus, I encourage you to take the time to read this chapter first, rather than just jump over it to the more tutorial, hands-on chapters that follow (most of which assume a basic grasp of the material presented here, in any case). You will probably find that your understanding and command of Git will grow more easily if you do.

Overview

We start by introducing some basic terms and ideas, the general notion of branching, and the usual mechanism by which you share your work with others in Git.

Terminology

A Git project is represented by a “repository,” which contains the complete history of the project from its inception. A repository in turn consists of a set of individual snapshots ...