Installation and Setup of Git

What You’ll Learn 📚

• What Git is and why it’s essential for developers
• Key terminology and concepts
• Step-by-step installation instructions for different operating systems
• Basic Git commands to get you started
• Troubleshooting common issues

Introduction to Git

Git is a distributed version control system that helps developers track changes in their code. Imagine working on a group project where everyone can see who made what changes and when. That’s Git in action! It allows multiple developers to work on the same project without stepping on each other’s toes. 🦶

Think of Git as a time machine for your code. You can go back to any previous version whenever you need!

Key Terminology

• Repository (Repo): A storage space where your project files and their history are kept.
• Commit: A snapshot of your project at a specific point in time.
• Branch: A separate line of development. You can think of it as a parallel universe where you can make changes without affecting the main project.
• Merge: Combining changes from different branches.

Installing Git

Windows

1. Download the Git installer from git-scm.com.
2. Run the installer and follow the setup instructions. You can keep the default settings if you’re unsure.
3. Once installed, open Git Bash from your start menu.

macOS

1. Open the Terminal application.
2. Type the following command to install Git using Homebrew (if you don’t have Homebrew, you can install it from brew.sh):

   brew install git

3. Verify the installation by typing:

   git --version

Linux

1. Open your terminal.
2. Use the package manager for your distribution. For example, on Ubuntu:

   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install git

3. Check the installation with:

   git --version

Configuring Git

After installing Git, you need to set up your username and email. This information will be associated with your commits.

git config --global user.name 'Your Name'
git config --global user.email 'your.email@example.com'

Basic Git Commands

Creating a New Repository

mkdir my-new-project
cd my-new-project
git init

Adding and Committing Changes

git add .
git commit -m 'Initial commit'

Common Questions and Troubleshooting

1. What is the difference between Git and GitHub?

   Git is a version control system, while GitHub is a platform for hosting Git repositories online.

2. How do I check my current Git configuration?

   git config --list

3. Why isn’t my Git command working?

   Ensure Git is installed and your command syntax is correct. Check for typos!

4. How do I undo a commit?

   You can use git reset to undo commits, but be cautious as this can alter your commit history.

Be careful with git reset as it can permanently delete changes!

Practice Exercises

1. Create a new Git repository and make a few commits.
2. Experiment with branching and merging.
3. Try undoing a commit and observe the changes.

Remember, practice makes perfect! Keep experimenting with Git, and soon it will become second nature. Happy coding! 🎉