Professional Git

Chapter 1What Is Git?

WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• A brief introduction to Git and its history
• The different ways to find and access Git
• Types of applications that incorporate Git
• The advantages of using Git
• The challenges of using Git

In this chapter, you'll be introduced to Git and will learn about it from a product perspective—what it is, why it's used, the different kinds of interfaces you can use with it, and the good parts and challenging parts of working with it. This will provide an important foundation for understanding the technical details that follow in the subsequent chapters.

If I were to summarize what Git is in one paragraph, it would go something like this:

Git is a popular and widely used source management system that greatly simplifies the development cycle. It enables users to create, use, and switch between branches for content development as easily as people create and switch between files in their daily workflow. It is implemented using a fast, efficient architecture that allows for ease of experimentation and refinement of local changes in an isolated environment before sharing them with others. In short, it allows everyday users to focus on getting the content right instead of worrying about source management, while providing more advanced users with the ability to record, edit, and share changes at any level of detail.

In short, Git is different—really. When you're experienced with using Git and understand it, this will make you feel empowered and ...