Git is my version control system of choice
Learning a version control system is a crucial part of any aspiring software developer. Version control systems are used by any serious software development team to keep a secure history of changes made within their product. Today, I am going to talk about my personal favorite version control system, Git. Git is a free, open source, Distributed Version Control System and it is used in many major companies such as Amazon, Google, and Intel.
To be honest, if I were in an interview panel for a software development position and the interviewee said that they didn't use a version control system or didn't seem to have an interest in a certain version control system either way, I would almost immediately say that we should not hire that person. Knowing a version control system is that crucial. Showing that you have used version control shows that you've worked on projects by yourself or on a collaborative team and that you are mindful of changes and keeping your code well organized.
In order to improve my skills with Git, I began looking for resources that guide you through the entire development process. Here are the main things that you need to know with Git version control:
- Branching
- Adding files to your project's repository
- Committing files to your branch
- Merging your branch to another branch
- Resolving merge conflicts
- Pushing to a remote repository
- Fetching files from a remote repository
- Reverting your project to a safe commit when something breaks
- Showing the commit history of your project
I'm sure that there are some other features that your future employers would like for you to know regarding a version control system. But for me, knowing these features of Git would satisfy my standards especially if you are applying for an entry or Developer 1 position.
In order to learn Git, I highly recommend the book "Ry's Git Tutorial" by Ryan Hodson. It breaks down the full version control life cycle and integration using Git. It goes in great detail about each command of Git is used in an efficient way and starts from scratch. And the best part is, it's absolutely free to read via Kindle on Amazon.
