Version Control with Git: A Technical Overview

Git is an open-source version control system.

What is Version Control System?

Version Control System(VCS) is a tool that helps to track changes to files whenever we make changes in our code.

Git is a specific type of version control system.

Why use Git?

• Open-source and free: Git is free as it is being maintained by the open-source community.

• History tracking: Git helps track changes to files and saves the earlier versions of changes in the source code.

• Collaboration: It helps developers collaborate and write code without replacing their own changes in the source code.

• Keeping backup: Git keeps a backup of every change, in case the code is lost.

How to use Git

• Repository(repo): Git project folder containing code and every change.

• Commit: A specific message of changes.

• Branch: An independent line of development based on a commit.

• Merge: Integrates changes from different branches

• Clone: Copy of the source repository taken from a remote server to the local machine.

• Fetch: Download changes from a remote server but does not make changes in local branch.

• Push: Upload local commits to a remote server(e.g., GitHub).

• Pull: Download changes from a remote server and merge those changes to the local branch.

Basic Git Commands

Real World example

Suppose a team of developers is making a new version of a website.

• Each developer clones the main source code onto their own machine from GitHub.

• One works on frontend(UI), another on backend, and another on database.

• They create branches, make changes, commit changes and push them in GitHub.

• After reviewing the changes, the commits get merged.

• The final version gets pushed to GitHub.

Difference : Git vs GitHub

Many people confuse Git with GitHub.

• Git is the tool for version control that runs on local machine.

• GitHub is the platform to store and share Git repositories online, which works with the help of a cloud server.

Git gives structure to the workflow, protects the progress, and simplifies teamwork. Git has made it easy for developers to write code and collaborate without conflict — making development much faster and more efficient.