Git Branches: Intuition and Reality

#1

Post by tambourine_man » Thu, Nov 23, 2023, 2:43 PM UTC

Git Branches: Intuition and Reality
jvns.ca

Re: Git Branches: Intuition and Reality

#2

Post by xanderlewis » Thu, Nov 23, 2023, 2:58 PM UTC

> in general, even if people’s intuition about a topic is technically incorrect in some ways, people usually have the intuition they do for very legitimate reasons!

This is worth an essay of its own.

Re: Git Branches: Intuition and Reality

#3

Post by adaboese » Thu, Nov 23, 2023, 3:00 PM UTC

I cannot be the only one that gets away with only knowing:

  git pull
  git merge x
  git checkout [-b] foo
  git commit
  git push

Re: Git Branches: Intuition and Reality

#4

Post by mixedmath » Thu, Nov 23, 2023, 3:04 PM UTC

adaboese wrote: post #3

I cannot be the only one that gets away with only knowing: git pull git merge x git checkout [-b] foo git commit git push

Possibly `git branch NEWBRANCHNAME` instead of `git checkout -b NEWBRANCHNAME`. When I need to show git to someone in order for them to contribute to something, I give them only these incantations --- and instructions to ask me if weird git things happen.

Re: Git Branches: Intuition and Reality

#5

Post by bravetraveler » Thu, Nov 23, 2023, 3:04 PM UTC

adaboese wrote: post #3

I cannot be the only one that gets away with only knowing: git pull git merge x git checkout [-b] foo git commit git push

I manage with even less, any merging under my watch happens as a strategy with pulling

Re: Git Branches: Intuition and Reality

#6

Post by _ZeD_ » Thu, Nov 23, 2023, 3:05 PM UTC

adaboese wrote: post #3

I cannot be the only one that gets away with only knowing: git pull git merge x git checkout [-b] foo git commit git push

FWIW that's 99% of my usage of git

(well... it's about 1% because I do everything using the eclipse git UI, but that's the same behavior you get from that commands)

Re: Git Branches: Intuition and Reality

#7

Post by have_faith » Thu, Nov 23, 2023, 3:06 PM UTC

adaboese wrote: post #3

I cannot be the only one that gets away with only knowing: git pull git merge x git checkout [-b] foo git commit git push

I know a decent amount of git, but day to day I use GUIs (Sublime Merge).

Re: Git Branches: Intuition and Reality

#8

Post by zdw » Thu, Nov 23, 2023, 3:06 PM UTC

A lot of things in git are just pointers to commits, and then the git implementation handles them under the covers in some way that usually makes sense but not always.

One example that also bites people: moving files isn't stored in git - if you move files (even with `git mv`) and create a new commit, the moves aren't stored, but this is reconstructed later by the client based on similarity, which comes from the diff algorithm.

And git has multiple diff algorithms to pick from: https://git-scm.com/docs/git-config#Documentation/git-config...

And optionally to not detect renames in diff output with `diff.renames`: https://git-scm.com/docs/git-config#Documentation/git-config...

Re: Git Branches: Intuition and Reality

#9

Post by ryanjshaw » Thu, Nov 23, 2023, 3:06 PM UTC

adaboese wrote: post #3

I cannot be the only one that gets away with only knowing: git pull git merge x git checkout [-b] foo git commit git push

The most important command:

    git reset --hard

Re: Git Branches: Intuition and Reality

#10

Post by sbergot » Thu, Nov 23, 2023, 3:07 PM UTC

adaboese wrote: post #3

I cannot be the only one that gets away with only knowing: git pull git merge x git checkout [-b] foo git commit git push

protip: If you want to switch branch you can now use "git switch [-c] foo". If you want to restore files you can do "git restore .".

Basically you can stop using checkout.

*edit*: fixed switch branch creation parameter.