Webflyx

Webflyx is a hands-on practice project built to reinforce core Git concepts. It forms part of the Git Fundamentals module from the Boot.dev course. This repository illustrates key version control techniques such as repository setup, branching, merging, rebasing, commit management, and collaboration with remote repositories.

Key Concepts Learned

1. Setup and Configuration

• Configured Git user details and global settings.
  • Verified configuration using git config --get user.name and git config --get user.email.
  • Set user information with git config --add --global user.name "GITHUB_USERNAME" and git config --add --global user.email "EMAIL_ADDRESS".
  • Changed the default branch name locally using git config --global init.defaultBranch master (note: GitHub’s default branch is main).
• Initialized local repositories and practiced fundamental Git commands.
  • Created a repository using git init.
• Used git status to monitor repository status.
  • Files exist in three states: untracked, staged, or committed.
• Staged files using git add <FILE_PATH>.
• Learned that Git stores snapshots of the repository at each commit, rather than diffs.
  • Saved snapshots with git commit -m "COMMIT_MESSAGE".
• Explored commit history via git log.
  • A repository is a sequence of commits, each representing the repository's state at a point in time.
  • Git logs include who made the commit, when, and what was changed.
• Viewing the .git directory’s contents directly shows raw data; using xxd reveals hexadecimal content.
• To inspect commit content, use git cat-file -p <COMMIT_HASH>.
• Git optimizes storage by storing pointers to unchanged files instead of duplicating them with each commit.

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2. Branching and Merging

• A branch is a pointer to a commit.
• Display branches with git branch and rename branches using git branch -m OLD_NAME NEW_NAME.
• Created branches via:
  • git branch BRANCH_NAME
  • git switch -c BRANCH_NAME
  • git checkout -b BRANCH_NAME
• Created feature branches to isolate work.
• Merged branches using fast-forward and non-fast-forward merges.
  • Git finds the "best common ancestor" or "merge base."
  • Replays changes from the feature branch onto the main branch starting from the merge base.
  • Creates a new special merge commit with two parent commits.

• Fast-forward merges occur if the merge base equals the branch-off point, adding no new commits.

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3. Rebasing

• Rebase shifts the merge base to enable fast-forward merges.
• Used to maintain a clean, linear commit history.
• Understood key differences between merging and rebasing.

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4. Reset and Revert

• Practiced resetting to previous commits:
  • git reset --soft <COMMIT> moves HEAD but leaves staging as-is, keeping changes staged.
  • git reset --hard <COMMIT> resets HEAD, staging, and working directory, discarding all changes since that commit.

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5. Remote Repositories and GitHub

• Differentiated local and remote repositories.
• Pushed to and pulled from remote GitHub repositories.
• Managed collaborative workflows with pull requests.

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6. .gitignore Usage

• Used .gitignore to exclude unwanted or sensitive files from version control.

Understanding How Git Works

• Git tracks changes made by one or more authors over time.
• Branches support parallel development lines, which can later be merged.
• A Git repository is a directory with a hidden .git folder containing all version control data.

Summary

This project gave hands-on experience with Git, reinforcing best practices for effective source code management both individually and in teams.

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