Chapter 1: My Git Journey

In the realm of programming, my journey began nearly seven years ago with a simple Git commit. It was 2015, and as I neared graduation, I realized the importance of establishing an online presence. While I initially dismissed platforms like WordPress for their complexity, I stumbled upon GitHub.com, which piqued my interest due to its free offerings.

Having no prior knowledge of GitHub, I quickly dove into tutorials, installing Git and Ruby, and following commands from various online sources. In my inexperience, I even managed to reassign the "W" key on my new laptop, leading to some hilarious moments. Ultimately, I emerged with a GitHub account, albeit with minimal understanding of the web development process. My approach was rudimentary: I would make changes to HTML files and push them to GitHub, refreshing my page repeatedly to see if my updates had gone live.

My grasp of development environments was almost nonexistent, resulting in me testing changes directly in production. I memorized a simple command sequence to manage my code:

git add --all

git commit -m "Update index.html"

git push origin master

Despite my limited knowledge, I eventually created a functioning website. Reflecting on this time, I realize how my frugal mindset led me to unexpected learning experiences, particularly with Git.

Chapter 2: Expanding My Git Skills

As I immersed myself in the tech world, dedicating 40 hours a week to programming, I came to appreciate various languages like R, Python, and JavaScript. However, I recognized a glaring gap in my skill set—Git.

During my first job as a data analyst at the University of Washington, I regularly committed code to Git. While I learned about branches and pull requests, I remained tethered to my basic add, commit, and push routine. It wasn't until my third job at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that my perspective on Git began to shift.

My mentor pointed out that my Git history was cluttered and difficult to read, prompting me to reassess my commit messages. They advised me to follow a structured approach to writing Git commit messages. The guide I read emphasized seven key principles:

1. Separate the subject from the body with a blank line.
2. Limit the subject line to 50 characters.
3. Capitalize the subject line.
4. Avoid ending the subject line with a period.
5. Use the imperative mood in the subject line.
6. Wrap the body text at 72 characters.
7. Focus on explaining what and why rather than how.

By adhering to these guidelines, I enhanced my empathy towards my teammates and myself. A clean Git history simplifies the process of reverting changes or identifying regressions, saving time and effort in the long run.

At first, I resisted my mentor's advice, feeling overwhelmed by the complexities of Git rebasing. However, after a challenging day dealing with merge conflicts, I returned to my desk with renewed determination. I began to approach Git with a new mindset—committing frequently and easily rearranging my commits as needed.

Chapter 3: Strategies for Improving Git Proficiency

In this section, I’ll share three advanced Git commands that revolutionized my workflow: git commit --amend, git add -p, and git rebase -i.

Before diving into these commands, it's essential to master the basics of Git: add, commit, push, and occasionally pull. For beginners, I recommend starting with GitHub's Git Guide.

Command 1: git commit --amend

This command allows you to create a new commit that combines your current changes with the previous commit. I frequently use this to refine my commits as I progress through my work. For instance, I might make several changes and run git commit --amend to keep my commit history tidy.

Command 2: git add -p

This command lets you selectively stage portions of a file for a commit. It provides an interactive prompt where you can choose which changes to include, making it easier to create focused commits.

Command 3: git rebase -i

Interactive rebasing is a powerful way to manage multiple commits. It allows you to edit, reorder, or combine commits, leading to a more coherent project history. For example, if I have several commits, I can modify their order or messages through a simple interface.

Conclusion

Thank you for joining me on this journey through my Git experiences. I hope my insights into advanced Git commands and strategies inspire you to enhance your own skills. If you're interested in my transition from a beginner to a software engineer, feel free to check out my other articles or connect with me on social media!