Lecture 6: Version Control (git) (2020)

Missing Semester · 751K views · 2020 · 1:25:00

Open on YouTube

Testing, debugging & developer toolsUniversity lectures & courseslecture

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN frequently calls it the best single video on git because it teaches the underlying data structures.

What it is

A lecture from MIT's Missing Semester course covering version control with git. It builds up git from its data model rather than from commands.

Recommended by 9 HN commenters across 8 different months, 2020 to 2023.

What Hacker News said

Strong rec janvdberg · 2021-04 · on “Git from the Bottom Up (2008)”

Video-wise there is hardly a better explainer on git than this one: 'Lecture 6: Version Control (git) (2020)' [this video]

Strong rec hassancf · 2022-02 · on “Git in one image”

I personally find this to be the best video on git by far: [this video] (MIT OpenCourseWare, Missing Semester). 1h25mn well spent

Strong rec mynameismon · 2022-06 · on “Dangit, Git?”

I've recommended it here previously, and I'll do it again, because it's so fantastic: Missing Semester's lecture on Git [this video]

Strong rec jacobegold · 2023-11 · on “Confusing Git Terminology”

I think that this video should be considered mandatory viewing if you're a developer using Git — the whole lecture starts from the basic data structures involved and builds from there, as opposed to the way that it seems many people approach Git: "What command do I run?" [this video]

Strong rec FranklinMaillot · 2023-11 · on “Confusing Git Terminology”

The "Missing Semester" is a collection of video lectures from MIT that covers the fundamentals of command line, git, vim, and other tools often overlooked in computer science courses. As a self-taught developer, I found it to be an ideal introduction to git. The series made me also pick up vim, and I have not looked back since. [this video]

Recommends hedberg10 · 2020-08 · on “Git Sucks, What Am I Doing Wrong?”

The time is always there, but not letting getting angry about a change eat it up and providing an excuse ("I'll just procrastinate, that'll show them!") is key. That means taking the biggest hurdle to learning. Mngt/Life/You could have not forced the change, but that's how it goes. In case of git, try this: [this video]

Recommends Lordarminius · 2021-08 · on “New in Git: switch and restore”

As a helpful aside, in my experience, there are only about a dozen or so Git commands you need to do ninety percent of your work. You don't need to become a git zen master right away. 1. git init: to start a new repository 2. git status: checks your current state 3. git add -A: To begin tracking files 4. git commit -am: Commit all changes in the working directory with a message added on 5. git switch -c [branch name]: Create a branch and switch to it. (git checkout -b will do the same thing) 6. git switch [branch name]: switch between named branches 7. git merge[branch]: merge named branch into current branch 8. git branch [branch name] -D : delete branch if not tracked 9. git log --pretty=o

Recommends valbaca · 2021-12 · on “Every Programmer Should Know”

Exactly. If anyone wants such a reference, there's the "Missing Semester" which is all about practicum. Lecture 6 is on Git: Lecture 6: Version Control (git) (2020) [this video]