Use Git Like a Senior Engineer: Mastering Version Control

Git is an essential tool for developers, and mastering it is crucial for anyone aspiring to become a senior engineer. It’s more than just a version control system; it’s the backbone of modern software development workflows. This guide will take you through advanced Git techniques, practices, and concepts that will help you use Git like a seasoned engineer.

1. Understanding Git Internals: The Plumbing of Git

Before diving into advanced commands and workflows, it’s essential to understand how Git works under the hood. Git is a distributed version control system that tracks changes in files and coordinates work on those files among multiple people.

• Commits as Snapshots: Unlike other version control systems that store differences between file versions, Git stores data as snapshots of the project. When you commit in Git, it takes a snapshot of your files and stores a reference to that snapshot.
• Git Objects: Git’s data structure comprises four main types of objects:
• Blob: Represents the contents of a file.
• Tree: Represents a directory and points to blobs and other trees.
• Commit: Points to a tree object (the state of the project at a given time) and the commit history.