Git features we love
As you might know, Git is a distributed version control system that strives to help groups of developers to collaborate on software projects. Version control systems are a great way to keep track of all the different versions of a development project as well as every change made to them. With this tool, you can easily revert to a previous version, compare changes or keep tabs on who last modified a file. When it comes to version control systems, our team thinks very highly of Git and we hope, by the end of this article, you do too. To help convince you, here are the top 10 Git features we love:
⦁ It saves time
Compared to other systems such as Mercurial and Bazaar, Git is considerably faster. Git’s performance speed makes for more efficient use of your time and faster development.
⦁ It’s easy to learn and use
Git is pretty straight forward and you only need to master a few basic commands (such as git clone, git add, git commit and git branch) to get the hang of it.
⦁ It has great documentation
Another reason why Git is easy to learn is that there is extensive documentation available on it. You can find everything you might need to know about Git on its website or any of the external links it provides.
⦁ Mistakes are easy to undo
One of the best perks of a version control system is being able to revert to previous versions or track down where things went wrong. Git includes an undo command for pretty much every situation. This makes it extremely easy to fix any errors or issues; there is even a Reflog command available to restore deleted commits. If you want to learn how to fix mistakes in Git, you can check out the First Aid Kit for Git videos and cheat sheet.
⦁ It makes collaborative work easy
Git makes it easy to work with other developers. The system includes easy ways to resolve conflicts that may arise from two people working on the same file and gives you the possibility to merge changes made by several people. To top that, there’s the use of remote repositories we’ll see below.
⦁ It works with remote repositories
There are a number of hosting platforms that offer Git repositories as a service. Platforms such as GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket make it easier to work in collaboration with other developers. Any member of the team can easily upload and download the latest changes made to a project. This is also generally cheaper than traditional servers: GitHub, BitBucket and GitLab all offer free plans as well as paid ones, depending on your needs and requirements.
⦁ You can work offline
Remote repositories do not mean you can’t also work offline. Git offers you the possibility to work on local repositories without the need to connect to the central repository. This gives you a lot of flexibility when it comes to where or when to work.
⦁ It’s distributed
The fact that Git has a distributed file system means that each copy of the files mirrors the full repository. Therefore, if there are any issues with a server that corrupts the global repository, any local copy serves as a full backup. This gives Git a considerable advantage when compared to centralized version control systems such as Subversion, where server issues can be catastrophic as only the global server contains the full project.
⦁ Easy code review with pull requests
Let’s say you are working on a new code branch adding a new feature that you’d then like to merge to the main branch. Well, once your feature is done, you can create a pull request which works as a formal request to add that feature. The developer that receives the request will review the code and discuss any changes or improvements before the branch is added to the main. Pull requests are a great way to encourage code reviews.
⦁ It has a large community
The fact Git has a very large and committed community behind it means that there is a large group of people constantly working on improving it. From reporting bugs and security issues to creating step-by-step guides to resolve specific issues, the number of developers behind the system makes up an outstanding support system.
Final thoughts on Git features
It’s easy to see using Git has many benefits in the development process, particularly when several developers are working on the same project. We hope our list of top 10 Git features we love has motivated you to try it out if you haven’t already. Also, if you are interested in doing research on more available tools, you can check out Best development tools for 2021.
