Learning Git

Chapter 1. Git and the Command Line

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Git and the Command Line

In this chapter, I will introduce what Git is and why we use it, and you’ll make sure you have it installed on your computer. You will also set some Git configuration variables (aka settings). I’ll introduce the graphical user interface and the command line, which are the two tools you will use to interact with Git and the hands-on Rainbow project. To get you comfortable working in the command line, we will go over how to carry out some basic actions such as viewing the current directory location, navigating into and out of directories, and making directories. Finally, at the end of the chapter, you will prepare the text editor you will use to work on the Rainbow project in Chapter 2. If you already have some experience working in the command line, then you may already know some of the information in this chapter. However, I don’t recommend skipping the chapter because it prepares the setup you will use for the rest of the book.

[ Note ] To understand how to use this book, you must have read "Using This Book" on page xii. If you have not read that section, I strongly recommend that you go back and do that now.

What Is Git?

Git is a technology that can be used to track changes to a project and to help multiple people to collaborate on a project. At a basic level, a project version controlled by Git consists of a folder with files in it, and Git tracks the changes that are made to the ...