git_assignment.md

Intro to Git

In this assignment, we will learn git by using it.

Answering questions

In this assignment, you will fork (and clone, if you haven't already) this repository (debugacademy-git), then edit this file itself (git.md) to answer the questions within the assignment. Below, we will walk you through the steps for obtaining the file. Your answers will be submitted as a pull request on github.

Clone/download repository to your local computer

• cd to the debugacademy folder:
  • cd ~/Desktop/debugacademy
• Clone the debugacademy-git repository that contains our tasks by running the following command in your command line:
  • git clone https://github.com/debugacademy/debugacademy-git.git

This will create a copy of the debugacademy-git repository on your computer, which will be placed where you ran the git clone command.

Outside of the command line, confirm that the debugacademy-git folder now exists at ~/Desktop/debugacademy/debugacademy-git .

You have now cloned this repository twice. Once in your github.com account, and once to your local computer. Let's proceed.

Git configuration within our git project

Tell git what name and email address to give credit to when working on this project:

• Open the command line (Windows: Git bash, Mac: Terminal)
  • Important: Windows users should always explicitly run Git bash as administrator.
• Run: git --version to confirm git is working
  • If you receive an error, git was not installed correctly
• cd into your git repository
  • cd ~/Desktop/debugacademy/debugacademy-git
• After replacing [YOUR NAME] with your name, run: git config user.name "[YOUR NAME]"
• After replacing [YOUR EMAIL] with your e-mail, run: git config user.email "[YOUR EMAIL]"

Global Git configuration -- Let Git know your name and email

Instead of configuring your name and email one project at a time, you can set default values for all projects on your machine.

• After replacing [YOUR NAME] with your name, run: git config --global user.name "[YOUR NAME]"
• After replacing [YOUR EMAIL] with your public e-mail, run: git config --global user.email "[YOUR EMAIL]"
• Windows users only: Prevent windows from converting characters by running git config --global core.autocrlf false in your command line.

Create and switch to a new branch

A branch is a version of your repository. Just like on a real gitflow-based project, we never want to edit the 'main' or 'develop' branches directly. Those versions of your repository should continue to match that of Debug Academy's repository for the entire project.

• cd into the debugacademy-git folder
• Ensure you have the latest branches downloaded:
  • git fetch --all
• Create a new branch based off of the develop branch, which is our base branch using the gitflow workflow
  • git checkout -b [new branch name] [base branch name]
• Name the branch using the following common convention
  • [Topic]-[Number]-[Your initials]

For example, Ashraf Abed would run the following command:
-git checkout -b git-001-aa origin/develop

Confirm you are on your new branch

The git branch command lists all branches, and tells you what branch you are on by denoting it with * or x

Run the git branch command and confirm you are on the new branch you just created.

Make your first commit

Git is great for keeping the history of all edits on files. Let's try it out by editing the file you're reading right now!

• Open a text-editor, such as VSCode, Sublime Text, or even notepad.
• Within the text editor, open the file: Desktop/debugacademy/debugacademy-git/text.txt
• Follow the instructions in the file (fill in your name where it instructs you to do so)

You're not done quite yet. Changes saved to the git history must be deliberate; git does not save every edit you do to the history automatically. Imagine how long the history would be if it did!

Saving your work to git's history is a 2-step process:

1. "Stage" the work (more detail below)
2. "Commit" the work (more detail below)

Stage (git add) your work

"Stage" your edit so that it will be included in your next commit:

• Save the file you edited (text.txt)
• In your command line window, cd into the debugacademy-git folder if you are not already there
• Run git status to see what files were modified.
• Run git add [filename] , after replacing [filename] with the name of the file you edited
  You just told git "The next time I commit something to history, I want the changes to [filename] to be included."

Commit your edit!

• In your command line window, run git commit -m '[my commit message]' , after replacing [my commit message] with a very short description of your changes.
• It's good practice to prefix the description with the assignment number, like: 001 - First commit in assignment 1

Compare branches

You just switched from the develop branch to your new branch, then made an edit and committed it to your new branch. Because branches are versions of the repository, we now have multiple different versions of the same repository. What does that mean?

It means that you can simply switch between ("checkout") your develop branch and your new branch, and all of the files in your debugacademy-git folder will automatically be updated to the appropriate version!

Let's try it out. You committed your name above, let's see if it really is only on your new branch.

• Look at the file you modified in your text editor. Confirm the change you made (entering your name) is there
• In the command line, switch back to the develop branch. git checkout develop
• Reload the file and look for the change you made, if you are on your develop branch you should not see it

Fork the debugacademy-git repository -- Allows sharing work with colleagues

• Log in to github.com
• Visit: https://github.com/debugacademy/debugacademy-git
• Press 'Fork' in the upper right corner of the page (if you have not previously done so)
• You have just created a copy of this repository on your github account!
• Keep this window open for the next step!

Communicating with remotes

You've made updates to your local branch, now you want to share those updates with teammates. This is where 'remotes' come in.

Adding a remote is like adding a contact to your phone book. Instead of adding a name and phone number, you add a name and git URL. The concept and governing rules are the same.

• View the debugacademy-git repository on your github account (this is the page you were redirected to after 'fork'ing debugacademy-git in the previous task.)
  • Did you accidentally close that window? If so, do the following to get it back: Log in to github, visit the homepage, under 'Your repositories' click the debugacademy-git repository which you forked.
• Under the "Clone or Download" button, copy the HTTPS clone URL
• In the command line, cd into your local debugacademy-git folder: cd ~/Desktop/debugacademy/debugacademy-git
• Run the command: git remote add me [copied URL]
  • Just like a contact in your phone, you can enter any name you want. I recommend simply using me as the nickname for your own account.
• For example, Ali would run the following command: git remote add me https://github.com/AliHassan7/debugacademy-git.git
  • This command will add a contact in your 'phonebook', or list of remotes, with your github account's repository.
• Additionally, paste the URL of your remote to the #students room in slack. We will use this soon.

Run git remote -v to see a list of all entries your repository has in its 'phone book'. Confirm that your github repository is listed, in addition to the Debug Academy remote, named 'origin'.

Push work to your github repository

A primary benefit of using git is being able to collaborate. Push the branch we have been working on to our Github accounts.

git push [your remote's nickname] [branch you would like to push]

• For example, Ali would run the following command: git push me git-001-ah

Using the remote ('contact') entry you created in the previous task, Git will send the specified branch, [branch you would like to push], to the specified remote, [your remote's nickname], which you entered into your 'contact book' in the previous task.

Add your instructor's remote contact info

Next, add your instructor's github repository as a remote git connection so that we can communicate with it.

• Run the command: git remote add teacher https://github.com/ashabed/debugacademy-git.git
  • You have added a "contact" to your phone book
  • The nickname for the contact is "teacher"
  • That nickname now points to the instructor's github repository

Run git remote -v to confirm you have saved the remotes for debugacademy, your account, and the instructor's account.

Merging work

We've edited this very file on our branch, and the instructor has edited it on their branch. What if we want to combine work from the two branches?

• Switch to the branch you completed this assignment on
  • git checkout [my branch name]
    • If you are unsure of your branch's name, run git branch to see a list of available branches
• Run git fetch --all to download work from all remotes
• Run git branch -r to view a list of the remote branches available to us
• Run git merge teacher/git-001-aa to merge the work from your instructor's remote into your local branch.
• The edits you've made to your git.md file and the edits the instructor made to their git.md file should automatically be combined!

Fix merge conflicts

You and your classmate edited the same line in the same file, so there will be a conflict. Your terminal/gitbash will inform you of the conflict.

You can see the actual conflict by opening your git.md file in your text editor. Fix the merge conflict by cleaning up the text containing your and your instructor's names from question 1. You can do this however you like - with a comma, or rewrite it in another way. After this, commit your changes by repeating the following steps:

• Save this file
• In your terminal, run git status to see what files were modified.
• In your terminal, run git add [filename]
  Next up, commit your edit!
• In your terminal, run git commit -m '[my commit message]'
• A sample commit message could be 'Git-001 - Merged Ashraf's git file'
• Push your work to your fork of the debugacademy-git repository on github by repeating the steps under the heading "Push work to your github repository"

Create a pull request

Now that you've merged your edits to the git.md file (the file you are reading) along with the edits of your instructor, it's time to submit your work from your github repository to the main debugacademy repository.

Because you don't have permission to push your work to debugacademy's account, you must instead ask debugacademy to pull the work from your account. This is called creating a 'Pull Request', and it is a feature on github.com .

Once you've pushed your branch to your github repository, visit your github repository, and click 'Create Pull Request' or 'Pull Requests'.

The folks at debugacademy will receive a notification, review your pull request, and they can merge in the work you have submitted!