Chapter 1.2.1

Version Control

Version control is a system that records changes to a file or set of files over time so that you can recall specific versions later.

Git essentially takes snapshots of your code--it records the entire state of your project at different moments in time so that you may revert to those snapshots if you accidentally mess up your code or if a previous iteration was more functional.

Git Repository

A repository is a directory (or location in a server) that somebody has initialized with Git.

This can be done by typing the following command into your command line:

git init

If you ever copy someone else's repository, you do not have to (and should not) git init the directory.

This command creates a .git subfolder in your directory and this is where Git keeps track of your changes.

The entire folder you use git init in is referred to as your repository or repo.

In short, a repo is a set of files and subfolders that Git tracks for you.