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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><title>Git Magic - Preface</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="default.css"><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets Vsnapshot"><link rel="home" href="index.html" title="Git Magic"><link rel="up" href="index.html" title="Git Magic"><link rel="prev" href="index.html" title="Git Magic"><link rel="next" href="ch01.html" title="Chapter 1. Introduction"></head><body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"> <div class="toc"><ul class="toc"><li>Git Magic</li><li><a href="pr01.html">Preface</a><ul><li><a href="pr01.html#_thanks">Thanks!</a></li><li><a href="pr01.html#_license">License</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="ch01.html">1. Introduction</a><ul><li><a href="ch01.html#_work_is_play">Work is Play</a></li><li><a href="ch01.html#_version_control">Version Control</a></li><li><a href="ch01.html#_distributed_control">Distributed Control</a></li><li><a href="ch01.html#_a_silly_superstition">A Silly Superstition</a></li><li><a href="ch01.html#_merge_conflicts">Merge Conflicts</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="ch02.html">2. Basic Tricks</a><ul><li><a href="ch02.html#_saving_state">Saving State</a></li><li><a href="ch02.html#_add_delete_rename">Add, Delete, Rename</a></li><li><a href="ch02.html#_advanced_undo_redo">Advanced Undo/Redo</a></li><li><a href="ch02.html#_reverting">Reverting</a></li><li><a href="ch02.html#_changelog_generation">Changelog Generation</a></li><li><a href="ch02.html#_downloading_files">Downloading Files</a></li><li><a href="ch02.html#_the_bleeding_edge">The Bleeding Edge</a></li><li><a href="ch02.html#_instant_publishing">Instant Publishing</a></li><li><a href="ch02.html#_what_have_i_done">What Have I Done?</a></li><li><a href="ch02.html#_exercise">Exercise</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="ch03.html">3. Cloning Around</a><ul><li><a href="ch03.html#_sync_computers">Sync Computers</a></li><li><a href="ch03.html#_classic_source_control">Classic Source Control</a></li><li><a href="ch03.html#_secret_source">Secret Source</a></li><li><a href="ch03.html#_bare_repositories">Bare repositories</a></li><li><a href="ch03.html#_push_versus_pull">Push versus pull</a></li><li><a href="ch03.html#_forking_a_project">Forking a Project</a></li><li><a href="ch03.html#_ultimate_backups">Ultimate Backups</a></li><li><a href="ch03.html#_light_speed_multitask">Light-Speed Multitask</a></li><li><a href="ch03.html#_guerilla_version_control">Guerilla Version Control</a></li><li><a href="ch03.html#_mercurial">Mercurial</a></li><li><a href="ch03.html#_bazaar">Bazaar</a></li><li><a href="ch03.html#_why_i_use_git">Why I use Git</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="ch04.html">4. Branch Wizardry</a><ul><li><a href="ch04.html#_the_boss_key">The Boss Key</a></li><li><a href="ch04.html#_dirty_work">Dirty Work</a></li><li><a href="ch04.html#_quick_fixes">Quick Fixes</a></li><li><a href="ch04.html#_merging">Merging</a></li><li><a href="ch04.html#_uninterrupted_workflow">Uninterrupted Workflow</a></li><li><a href="ch04.html#_reorganizing_a_medley">Reorganizing a Medley</a></li><li><a href="ch04.html#_managing_branches">Managing Branches</a></li><li><a href="ch04.html#_temporary_branches">Temporary Branches</a></li><li><a href="ch04.html#_work_how_you_want">Work How You Want</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="ch05.html">5. Lessons of History</a><ul><li><a href="ch05.html#_i_stand_corrected">I Stand Corrected</a></li><li><a href="ch05.html#_8230_and_then_some">… And Then Some</a></li><li><a href="ch05.html#_local_changes_last">Local Changes Last</a></li><li><a href="ch05.html#_rewriting_history">Rewriting History</a></li><li><a href="ch05.html#_making_history">Making History</a></li><li><a href="ch05.html#_where_did_it_all_go_wrong">Where Did It All Go Wrong?</a></li><li><a href="ch05.html#_who_made_it_all_go_wrong">Who Made It All Go Wrong?</a></li><li><a href="ch05.html#_personal_experience">Personal Experience</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="ch06.html">6. Multiplayer Git</a><ul><li><a href="ch06.html#_who_am_i">Who Am I?</a></li><li><a href="ch06.html#_git_over_ssh_http">Git Over SSH, HTTP</a></li><li><a href="ch06.html#_git_over_anything">Git Over Anything</a></li><li><a href="ch06.html#_patches_the_global_currency">Patches: The Global Currency</a></li><li><a href="ch06.html#_sorry_we_8217_ve_moved">Sorry, We’ve Moved</a></li><li><a href="ch06.html#_remote_branches">Remote Branches</a></li><li><a href="ch06.html#_multiple_remotes">Multiple Remotes</a></li><li><a href="ch06.html#_my_preferences">My Preferences</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="ch07.html">7. Git Grandmastery</a><ul><li><a href="ch07.html#_source_releases">Source Releases</a></li><li><a href="ch07.html#_commit_what_changed">Commit What Changed</a></li><li><a href="ch07.html#_my_commit_is_too_big">My Commit Is Too Big!</a></li><li><a href="ch07.html#_the_index_git_8217_s_staging_area">The Index: Git’s Staging Area</a></li><li><a href="ch07.html#_don_8217_t_lose_your_head">Don’t Lose Your HEAD</a></li><li><a href="ch07.html#_head_hunting">HEAD-hunting</a></li><li><a href="ch07.html#_building_on_git">Building On Git</a></li><li><a href="ch07.html#_daring_stunts">Daring Stunts</a></li><li><a href="ch07.html#_preventing_bad_commits">Preventing Bad Commits</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="ch08.html">8. Secrets Revealed</a><ul><li><a href="ch08.html#_invisibility">Invisibility</a></li><li><a href="ch08.html#_integrity">Integrity</a></li><li><a href="ch08.html#_intelligence">Intelligence</a></li><li><a href="ch08.html#_indexing">Indexing</a></li><li><a href="ch08.html#_git_8217_s_origins">Git’s Origins</a></li><li><a href="ch08.html#_the_object_database">The Object Database</a></li><li><a href="ch08.html#_blobs">Blobs</a></li><li><a href="ch08.html#_trees">Trees</a></li><li><a href="ch08.html#_commits">Commits</a></li><li><a href="ch08.html#_indistinguishable_from_magic">Indistinguishable From Magic</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="apa.html">A. Git Shortcomings</a><ul><li><a href="apa.html#_sha1_weaknesses">SHA1 Weaknesses</a></li><li><a href="apa.html#_microsoft_windows">Microsoft Windows</a></li><li><a href="apa.html#_unrelated_files">Unrelated Files</a></li><li><a href="apa.html#_who_8217_s_editing_what">Who’s Editing What?</a></li><li><a href="apa.html#_file_history">File History</a></li><li><a href="apa.html#_initial_clone">Initial Clone</a></li><li><a href="apa.html#_volatile_projects">Volatile Projects</a></li><li><a href="apa.html#_global_counter">Global Counter</a></li><li><a href="apa.html#_empty_subdirectories">Empty Subdirectories</a></li><li><a href="apa.html#_initial_commit">Initial Commit</a></li><li><a href="apa.html#_interface_quirks">Interface Quirks</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="apb.html">B. Translating This Guide</a></li></ul></div> <div class="content"> <div class="preface"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a name="_preface"></a>Preface</h1></div></div></div><a class="ulink" href="http://git-scm.com/" target="_top">Git</a> is a version control Swiss army knife. A reliable versatile multipurpose revision control tool whose extraordinary flexibility makes it tricky to learn, let alone master.As Arthur C. Clarke observed, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. This is a great way to approach Git: newbies can ignore its inner workings and view Git as a gizmo that can amaze friends and infuriate enemies with its wondrous abilities.Rather than go into details, we provide rough instructions for particular effects. After repeated use, gradually you will understand how each trick works, and how to tailor the recipes for your needs.<div class="itemizedlist">Translations<ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"> <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <a class="ulink" href="/~blynn/gitmagic/intl/zh_cn/" target="_top">Simplified Chinese</a>: by JunJie, Meng and JiangWei. Converted to <a class="ulink" href="/~blynn/gitmagic/intl/zh_tw/" target="_top">Traditional Chinese</a> via <code class="literal">cconv -f UTF8-CN -t UTF8-TW</code>. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="/~blynn/gitmagic/intl/fr/" target="_top">French</a>: by Alexandre Garel, Paul Gaborit, and Nicolas Deram. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="/~blynn/gitmagic/intl/de/" target="_top">German</a>: by Benjamin Bellee and Armin Stebich; also <a class="ulink" href="http://gitmagic.lordofbikes.de/" target="_top">hosted on Armin’s website</a>. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="/~blynn/gitmagic/intl/it/" target="_top">Italian</a>: by Mattia Rigotti. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="/~blynn/gitmagic/intl/ko/" target="_top">Korean</a>: by Jung-Ho (John) Han; also <a class="ulink" href="https://sites.google.com/site/drinkhanjohn/useful-links/" target="_top">hosted on John’s website</a>. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="/~blynn/gitmagic/intl/pl/" target="_top">Polish</a>: by Damian Michna. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="/~blynn/gitmagic/intl/pt_br/" target="_top">Brazilian Portuguese</a>: by José Inácio Serafini and Leonardo Siqueira Rodrigues. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="/~blynn/gitmagic/intl/ru/" target="_top">Russian</a>: by Tikhon Tarnavsky, Mikhail Dymskov, and others. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="/~blynn/gitmagic/intl/es/" target="_top">Spanish</a>: by Rodrigo Toledo and Ariset Llerena Tapia. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="/~blynn/gitmagic/intl/uk/" target="_top">Ukrainian</a>: by Volodymyr Bodenchuk. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="/~blynn/gitmagic/intl/vi/" target="_top">Vietnamese</a>: by Trần Ngọc Quân; also <a class="ulink" href="http://vnwildman.users.sourceforge.net/gitmagic/" target="_top">hosted on his website</a>. </li></ul></div><div class="itemizedlist">Other Editions<ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="book.html" target="_top">Single webpage</a>: barebones HTML, with no CSS. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="book.pdf" target="_top">PDF file</a>: printer-friendly. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="book.epub" target="_top">EPUB file</a>: E-reader-friendly. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="http://packages.debian.org/gitmagic" target="_top">Debian package</a>, <a class="ulink" href="http://packages.ubuntu.com/gitmagic" target="_top">Ubuntu package</a>: get a fast and local copy of this site. Handy <a class="ulink" href="http://csdcf.stanford.edu/status/" target="_top">when this server is offline</a>. </li><li class="listitem"> <a class="ulink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Git-Magic-Ben-Lynn/dp/1451523343/" target="_top">Physical book [Amazon.com</a>]: 64 pages, 15.24cm x 22.86cm, black and white. Handy when there is no electricity. </li></ul></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="_thanks"></a>Thanks!</h2></div></div></div>I’m humbled that so many people have worked on translations of these pages. I greatly appreciate having a wider audience because of the efforts of those named above.Dustin Sallings, Alberto Bertogli, James Cameron, Douglas Livingstone, Michael Budde, Richard Albury, Tarmigan, Derek Mahar, Frode Aannevik, Keith Rarick, Andy Somerville, Ralf Recker, Øyvind A. Holm, Miklos Vajna, Sébastien Hinderer, Thomas Miedema, Joe Malin, Tyler Breisacher, Sonia Hamilton, Julian Haagsma, Romain Lespinasse, Sergey Litvinov, Oliver Ferrigni, David Toca, Сергей Сергеев, Joël Thieffry, and Baiju Muthukadan contributed corrections and improvements.François Marier maintains the Debian package originally created by Daniel Baumann.My gratitude goes to many others for your support and praise. I’m tempted to quote you here, but it might raise expectations to ridiculous heights.If I’ve left you out by mistake, please tell me or just send me a patch!</div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="_license"></a>License</h2></div></div></div>This guide is released under <a class="ulink" href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html" target="_top">the GNU General Public License, version 3</a> or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.Naturally, the source is kept in a Git repository, and can be obtained by typing:<pre class="literallayout">$ git clone git://repo.or.cz/gitmagic.git # Creates "gitmagic" directory.</pre>or from one of the mirrors:<pre class="literallayout">$ git clone git://github.com/blynn/gitmagic.git $ git clone git://git.assembla.com/gitmagic.git $ git clone git@bitbucket.org:blynn/gitmagic.git</pre>GitHub, Assembla, and Bitbucket support private repositories, the latter two for free.</div></div><script (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-1901330-2', 'auto'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script></div></body></html>