What is Git?

Git is a modern and widely-used distributed version control system in the world. It is developed to manage projects with high speed and efficiency. The version control system allows us to monitor and work together with our team members in the same workspace.

It is a Version Control System for tracking changes in computer files and coordinating work on those files among multiple people.

It is primarily used for source code management in software development, But it can be used to keep track of changes in any set of files.

Features of GIT

1. Open Source:

Git is an open-source tool. It is released under the GPL (General Public License) license.

2. Scalable:

Git is scalable, which means when the number of users increases, Git can easily handle such situations.

3. Distributed:

This is the main feature of Git. Distributed means that instead of switching the project to another machine, we can create a "clone" of the entire repository. We do not need to connect to the remote repository; the change is just stored on our local repository. If necessary, we can push these changes to a remote repository.

4. Security:

Security should be considered whenever we use a product or services online. Git is secure as it uses the SHA1 (Secure Hash Function) to name and identify objects within its repository.

5. Speed:

Git is very fast, so it can complete all the tasks in a while. Most of the git operations are done on the local repository, so it provides a huge speed.

6. Branching and Merging:

Branching and merging are the great features of Git, which makes it different from the other Source Code Management(SCM) tools. Git allows the creation of multiple branches without affecting each other. We can perform tasks like creation, deletion, and merging on branches, and these tasks take a few seconds only.

Benefits of Git

1. Saves Time:

The git commands are easy to execute which takes much less time than going into the website and searching for the feature.

2. Track the changes:

As GIT is a version controlling system it tracks all the changes in the files in each commit.

3. Get back the old files(last committed files):

If the new code written after committing to GIT is not working as expected then we can get back the code from the GIT.

4. Works Offline:

The git creates a local repository and we can work with this offline, whenever we are connected to the internet we can push the code to the remote repository.

Why Git?

Yes, this question is to be asked whenever we are knowing about one new thing (Why This ? Why not That ? ).

If the features and benefits of GIT are not convinced you yet ?, then I should list out something that makes the GIT a backbone of programmers.

1. Open Source
2. Scalable
3. Distributed
4. Security
5. Speed
6. Branching
7. Integrity
8. Merging
9. Local Repository
10. Staging
11. Clear History(tracking of code)
12. Trendy
13. Data Assurance
14. Collaboration
15. Workflow

Common Git Commands

1. Creating a Repository

   git init
   

2. Making Changes

   git status
   

3. Parallel Development

   git add . >>> git commit -m "custom message"
   

4. Syncing Repository

   git remote add origin "url to repository"
   git push origin "branch name"
   

Alternatives of GIT

SCM Tools

1. Team Foundation Server

2. SubVersion

3. Kallithea

4. Helix Core Version Control

5. GitLab

6. Bitbucket Server

7. Mercurial

8. Gerrit and etc.,