Git Questions

1) Can you describe the four different areas ?
Working Directory - This is a local folder on your device. Using "git add" moves changes to the Staging Area.
Staging Area - Using "git commit" moves changes to the Local Repository.
Local Repository - This contains all your commits. Using "git push" moves changes to the Remote Repository.
Remote Repository -

2) Can you describe the three different states for files in the Working Directory ?
using "git status" tells you what is going on here
Untracked files -
Tracked, Unmodified -
Tracked, Modified -

3) What is the difference between a remote branch and a local branch ?
A remote branch represents the version that is on the server
A local branch represents the version that is saved locally

4) What does the git clone command do ?
A new folder is created which is the same name as the repository
All the files are pulled down from the remote repository
Creates a '.git' sub folder
A remote called "origin" is created referencing the URL
A local branch called 'master' is created ??
If no explicit branch is given then the repository 'default branch' will be pulled.
The local branch 'master' is also a tracking branch that tracks 'origin/master'

git clone ""paste the URL"" 
git clone -b mybranch ""paste the URL"" 

5) What does the git checkout command do ?
This command is used to move around in the commit tree and moving your HEAD label.
This command will only change things in your local repository.
If your local repository does not have all the latest changes then you need to perform a 'git fetch' first.
You can move the HEAD label in lots of different ways

git checkout branch_name 
git checkout HEAD^ 
git checkout HEAD~1 
git checkout -b branch_name        // creates a new branch and moves to that branch 

6) Write code to get all the latest changes (into an empty folder)

git remote add <remote_name> <paste the URL from the clone button in the UI> 
git pull remote_name branch_name 
git pull remote_name master 

7) Write code to get all the latest changes (overwrite local changes)

git fetch remote_name branch_name 
git reset --hard                   // reset to the last commit 
git reset --hard <last commit> 

8) What does the git log command do ?
This gives you a summary of all your commits.

9) Write code to check-in your latest changes ?

git add --all 
git status 
git commit -m "my comment"      // the m switch allows you to add a comment 
git push origin branch_one 

10) Write code to switch to a different branch ?

git checkout master 
git checkout feature/branch_one 

11) Write code that displays all the local and remote branches ?

git branch --all 
git branch              // only local branches 
git branch --remote     // only remote branches 

12) Write code to delete a local branch ?

git branch --delete local_branch_name 

If the branch is not fully merged you need to run

git branch -D local_branch_name 

13) Write code to delete a remote branch ?

git push origin --delete feature/oldfeature 

If you delete a remote branch, the corresponding local branch is removed automatically.

14) Write code to delete a folder recursively ?

git rm -r foldername 

15) What is a 'tracking branch' ?
A tracking branch is a local branch that automatically tracks and refreshes when changes are made on the remote branch.
In this context the remote branch is called an upstream branch.

16) What is the HEAD ?
This is a label that refers to the currently active head in your repository.
This moves with you from one commit to the next.
The HEAD usually points to the last commit for a particular branch.

17) Write code to remove an existing Remote Name

git remote rm remote_name 

18) Write code that will throw away all my local changes and sync it with what is on the remote server

git reset --hard origin/branch_one 

19) What does the command ls -a command do ?
This shows all files including the hidden ".git" folder.

20) What is the base branch ?
This is a branch that others are being compared to.

21) What is the default branch ?
This is the branch that operations will be made on if you do not explicitly provide a branch name.

22) Write code to compare the files in the working directory with the files in the staging area ?

git diff 

23) Write code to compare the files in the staging area with the files in the local repository ?

git diff --staged 

24) Write code to create a local branch ?

git branch feature/newfeature 

25) Write code to see the difference between a local branch and a remote branch ?

git diff develop remote_name/develop 

26) Write code to merge the latest 'develop' changes to a feature branch ?

git fetch remote_name 
git checkout feature/myfeature 
git merge develop 

27) Write code to merge a feature branch to the 'develop' branch ?

git fetch 
git checkout develop 
git merge feature/myfeature 

28) What does the 'git pull' command do ?
This command provides a shortcut to the following two lines of code.
Using the pull will not submit a merge commit

git pull develop 
// equivalent to 
git fetch develop    // get all the latest information about all the branches on the remote server, no actual code 
git merge develop    // updates you local working copy and submits a merge commit 

29) What does the 'git push -u' command do ?
It provides a shortcut to the following line of code

git push --set-upstream 

This adds an upstream tracking reference

30) What does the 'git fetch --prune' command do ?
This will refresh your local copy of all the remote branches.
If any branches have been removed from the server they will be removed from your local copy.

git fetch --prune 

31) What does the 'git revert' command do ?
This command can be used as a way of returning to a previous commit.
This can reverse the effect of earlier commits.

git revert -m 1 "commit id" 

32) Is it possible to merge a branch with itself ?
Yes. Every merge will send a merge commit even when the merge has no changes.

33) What is 'VIM' ?
This is a command line text editor that can be used on any platform, windows, apple and unix

<esc>:wq<enter>     // save and quit