Modified stateĪ file in the modified state is a revised - but uncommitted (unrecorded) - file. In Git, there are three primary states (conditions) in which a file can be: modified state, staged state, or committed state. However, to get the best of Git, it is essential to understand how Git handles your files. This illuminates the importance of a reliable and collaborative version control system like Git. But this approach is error-prone and ineffective for team projects.Īlso, tracking what changed, who changed it, and why it was changed is a tedious endeavor with this traditional approach. Intuitively, many people already version control their projects by renaming different versions of the same file in various ways like blogScript.js, blogScript_v2.js, blogScript_v3.js, blogScript_final.js, blogScript_definite_final.js, and so on. But what exactly is a version control system? What is a Version Control System?Ī Version Control System (VCS) refers to the method used to save a file's versions for future reference. Okay, so “distributed” means distribute all - not just selected few - versions of a project’s files that Git has recorded. They only share whatever single version a user has explicitly checked out from the central/local database. This 'distributed' system is in sharp contrast to other version control systems. Instead, it distributes every version it has recorded for that project. The term “distributed” means that whenever you instruct Git to share a project’s directory, Git does not only share the latest file version. This means that the details about what changed, who changed what, or who initiated an issue are reviewable anytime.īut if Git is a Distributed Version Control System, what exactly do those terms mean? What does “distributed” mean?

Git also makes it easy to record and compare different file versions. Git is a Distributed Version Control System (DVCS) used to save different versions of a file (or set of files) so that any version is retrievable at will. Without any further ado, let’s get it started with Git.

Afterward, we will learn about the main differences between these two vital technologies. This post will begin by taking a good look at the purposes of Git and GitHub. Indeed, it is possible to use Git without GitHub! And ultimately, the two exist for different purposes. Git and GitHub can be tricky sometimes, but by the end of this post you will have a good grasp of the two.Īt first, it may be tempting to believe Git and GitHub are the same thing. Have you ever been confused by how Git and GitHub work? Don’t fret - you are not alone.

Github wiki tab