For anyone looking for a video/demo on this, here's a great presentation by Tim Berglund - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYP56QJpDr4
Understanding Git for real by exploring the .git directory
11–20 of 92 posts
Re: Understanding Git for real by exploring the .git directory
#12I look at this, and then I look at people wondering why non-coders don't use version control, and I laugh and laugh.
Re: Understanding Git for real by exploring the .git directory
#13Nice article.
https://codewords.recurse.com/issues/three/unpacking-git-pac... is another article that i found very useful to understand packing and unpacking.
(I found this when I was building a standalone html viewer for .git directory)
Re: Understanding Git for real by exploring the .git directory
#14I've been using git at work for a couple of years and I haven't spent very much time thinking about the internals at all. It just seems to work pretty much, though sometimes I get into a weird state and just delete and redownload.
That's the thing, there is almost no reason to ever have to delete and redownload. Moreover, the reason that git is dominant is (network effects, and) because it is solving the right problem with the right internal abstractions. It has even managed to become popular in spite of its user interface.
Re: Understanding Git for real by exploring the .git directory
#15I look at this, and then I look at people wondering why non-coders don't use version control, and I laugh and laugh.
I don't think this article is a very good argument why non-coders don't use it. They don't care about the internals. Git's CLI, well, that's a good reason why they don't. (but you can get quite a lot of the benefits with a few basic commands via a GUI tool, and you totally can explain that to many non-coding users)
Re: Understanding Git for real by exploring the .git directory
#16I've downvoted this post for using an xkcd cartoon. This comic has become cliche and no one really likes it anymore. Avoid stupid cartoons if you write a technical post, especially xkcd that's so overused.
Re: Understanding Git for real by exploring the .git directory
#17How many "Understanding Git" posts have hit #1 on Hacker News? More than a few. How many have hit top 10? Surely dozens.
Can we, please, take this as an indicator that Git is too fucking complicated? After the first thousand "Git made easy" blog posts it should have been apparent.
Le sigh.
Re: Understanding Git for real by exploring the .git directory
#18I've been using git at work for a couple of years and I haven't spent very much time thinking about the internals at all. It just seems to work pretty much, though sometimes I get into a weird state and just delete and redownload.
That's the thing, there is almost no reason to ever have to delete and redownload. Moreover, the reason that git is dominant is (network effects, and) because it is solving the right problem with the right internal abstractions. It has even managed to become popular in spite of its user interface.
Yeah usually there's a way I can figure it out but if it takes more than 15 seconds it's easier to just clone the repo again.
Re: Understanding Git for real by exploring the .git directory
#19I feel this one is more well-written and complete: https://codewords.recurse.com/issues/two/git-from-the-inside...
That and The Git Parable (http://tom.preston-werner.com/2009/05/19/the-git-parable.htm...) gave me a wonderful understanding of Git.
Re: Understanding Git for real by exploring the .git directory
#20The most enlightening introduction to git internal model (graph of commits) and how the main commands alter it I have read so far: https://jwiegley.github.io/git-from-the-bottom-up/ I think it is slightly more relevant to understand the model than the .git/ structure since the .git/ folder is just an implementation detail.
The point of this is to also understand just the implementation.