Git, the Developers Playbook
For multiple and single team developers knowing, using, and appreciating the pitfalls in version control is essential. So how does one go about this?
The steps in version control is first having a repository to begin with, or shall we say, where the project is stored and I will use Git/GitHub as the example.
Having a repository allows off-site preservation of the project as well as to facilitate a team development of a project.
Having the links established from your project to GitHub is the first step. It’s a small thing, yes, but essential for the repository to have any use to the development at all.
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The critical steps in version control which in programming is like a For loop is a process in that three phases are essential to keeping the project under control. Let’s look at those three phases next.
Once the initial upload of the project is in place the first of the three processes in whatever new iteration of the project under development is to “Pull” from the server. Think of this as merging the previous contents of the repository with the new changes to the project to make sure the repository is up to date with the project as its being worked on.
The second phase of the process is to commit. The word commit is in deference to the file manipulations and branch manipulations that are needed to update the repository. The word branch is a substituted word for directory. Commit gets to the meat of repository management in that version control is trying to keep all members of the project on the same page even if there is only one developer.
As a side note here branch management can be thought of as side projects that potentially might get included into the main project once they are tested and approved. This isn’t the only reason for a branch, of course.
The last of the three phases is the Push. Push, in my owns words would be the finalizing of the process. This is telling the repository via the Push that the repository is in agreement with the development team.
Like a For loop in programming the critical steps repeat keeping the project in harmony for a team and/or single developer. Everybody is on the same page throughout the development process creating efficiency.
