Git is a distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency. It was created by Linus Torvalds in 2005 to manage the development of the Linux kernel. In this blog post, you will gain a broad understanding of Version Control Systems and Git.

What & Why is a Version Control System?

What is a Version Control System?

A Version Control System (VCS) is a software tool that helps developers manage changes to the codebase. It allows multiple developers to work on the same codebase simultaneously, keeps track of changes made to the codebase over time, and allows developers to roll back to a previous version of the code if necessary.

There are several VCSs available in the market include:

• Git

• Subversion (SVN)

• Mercurial

• Perforce

• CVS

Why is a Version Control System important?

• Collaboration: VCS allows multiple developers to work on the same codebase simultaneously, making collaboration easier.

• Change tracking: VCS keeps track of changes made to the codebase over time, which is useful for debugging and identifying changes that introduced bugs.

• Rollback: VCS allows developers to roll back to a previous version of the code if necessary.

• Documentation: VCS provides a history of changes made to the codebase, which can be useful for documentation purposes.

Why Git has become the most popular VCS?

Git has become the most popular VCS in recent years due to its speed, efficiency, and support for distributed development. Git provides advanced features such as branching and merging, which make it easier to manage changes to the codebase. Additionally, many popular platforms and services such as GitHub and GitLab support Git, making it easier for developers to collaborate and share code.

What are the fundamentals of Git?

The basic workflow of Git consists of four main stages:

1. Working Directory: This is where you create, edit, and delete files.

2. Staging Area: This is where you prepare files to be committed to the repository.

3. Local Repository: This is where committed files are saved on your local machine.

4. Remote Repository: This is where the committed files are saved on a remote server, such as GitHub.

Next episode on "Git - No to Know"

In the upcoming episode of "Git - Know the Basics", we will delve into the fundamentals of Git, exploring how to get started with Git on your computer.