How To Use Git

Some useful suggestions/links/information on how to use git.

Learning Git

Presentations

• Just the Basics
• Tags & Branches
  • Needed for making changes without affecting others
  • Useful for marking releases

If you want to use a GUI, one option is: SmartGit GUI

Practical

Using Git Example

Cheat Sheet

• Git Cheat Sheet

GitHub

We use GitHub to host our software repositories - take a look at a brief overview

• GitHub

Git Terms

• Repository - holds files and their history
  • Bare repository - no visible files, just the database that holds the stored information
• Clone - copy a repository
• Local/working - the directory/repository where you make your changes/work in
• Remote/source - the repository that your local/working repository was cloned from/where you send your completed changes.
• Commit - a version/revision of your repository or the act of creating a version/revision
  • on a commit, changes are only stored in the local/working repository
• Pull - update your local/working repository with any changes that have been made to the remote/source (you do not automatically see the changes)
• Push - update the remote/source with changes that you have made in your local/working repository
• Branch - alternate paths of work that allows you to commit/push/pull without affecting the other paths
• Master - the main/default branch
• Merge - bring in changes from another branch

Git FAQs

How Do I...

Learn how a specific command works

Command	Example
git help <command>	git help clone
man git-<command>	man git-clone
git-<command> -h	git-clone -h

Use a Previously Setup Repository

Clone it:

 git clone <repository to be cloned> [optional new directory name]

Update files

• Edit a file.
• When done editing, commit them, entering a description when prompted (2 ways):
  • git commit -a
  • git add (adds to the index/stage); git commit

Identify non-committed changes

• Using Command-Line (2 ways)
  • git status
  • git diff
• Using git-gui
  • They are listed under Unstaged Changes

Stage files/changes prior to committing them

• Using Command-Line (multiple ways)
  • git add <file1> <file2> (adds specified files)
  • git add . (adds all files)
• Using git-gui (multiple ways): Should see files move from Unstaged to Staged
  • Click on the file icons in the Unstaged Changes window
  • 2 Step process
    1. Select the files to be staged in the Unstaged Changes Window;
    2. Commit->Stage To Commit

Commit Changes

• To see staged files use:
  • git diff --cached
• Using Command-Line
  • git commit

Note: you need to use "git add" to incrementally "add" changes to the index before using the commit command

• Using git-gui
  • Press the "Commit" button

Merging Changes

• Command-Line
  • Merge <branchname> to the current branch:
    • git merge <branchname>
  • If independent enough, nothing more to do than commit.
  • If conflicts, use git status to get list of files that need to be resolved
    • Update the conflict files either by hand or using a merge tool:
      • git mergetool -t <tool>
  • Add & Commit the changes
• To Undo a merge before committing:
  • git reset --hard HEAD

Pulling in Changes from source repository (the one you cloned from)

• In master:
  • git pull
  • Then resolve any unresolved merges & commit.

Ignoring files

You can setup git to ignore files with certain names, extensions, etc.

• git config core.excludesfile ~/git/config/ignoreFiles
• Update ignoreFiles:

# Ignore editor created temp files
*~

More - COMING SOON!