Introduction to git

Version control is like an unlimited ‘undo’.

Version control also allows many people to work in parallel.

Bitbucket is a service that uses git and provides functionality to collaborate with other people

We can browse the history of the contents of repositories and see who made which changes

Other platforms like Github look different by employ the same fundamentals

git configuration is all stored in ~/.gitconfig

The config is specific to each computer you use

Initializing a Git repository is simple: git init

Commits should be used to tell a story.

Git uses the .git folder to store the snapshots.

Git history can be reverted without modifying it

Once changes are committed they are safe

Changes that are not committed can be deleted

A branch is a division unit of work, to be merged with other units of work.

A tag is a pointer to a moment in the history of a project.

Conflicts often appear because of not enough communication or not optimal branching strategy.

A repository can have one or multiple remotes

A remote serves as a full backup of your work.

git push sends local changes to the remote

git pull gets remote changes onto your local machine.

A remote allows other people to collaborate with you

Sharing a repository needs good communication

Branches are really necessary

Pull requests enable sensible merging of changes between branches and across repositories

Git tags may be generated to note a particular version in history.

Consider use of git early in scientific workflows, for robust documentation

Open scientific work is more useful and more highly cited than closed.

Git tags may be generated to note a particular version in history.

Consider use of git early in scientific workflows, for robust documentation

Open scientific work is more useful and more highly cited than closed.