{"id":1500,"date":"2019-11-14T20:00:39","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T02:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ciraltos.com\/?p=1500"},"modified":"2023-03-23T22:43:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T03:43:57","slug":"git-for-the-lone-scripter-fork-branch-merge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ciraltos.com\/staging2\/git-for-the-lone-scripter-fork-branch-merge\/","title":{"rendered":"Git for the Lone Scripter – Fork, Branch & Merge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In my first post, I made the bold statement that I would leave Branch and Fork out of this series because as a Sysadmin and loan scripter, I simply don\u2019t need that functionality.  However, I didn\u2019t feel that this would be a complete series on Git if I didn\u2019t spend some time on Git Branch and Fork.  At a minimum, it is helpful to understand what it is and how it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Click here <\/a>to see other articles in this series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fork<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First up is Fork.  Think of a Fork as a fork in a road, a single\npath that splits and goes to two different destinations.  In literal terms, a Fork creates a new\nrepository based on other projects commit. \nIf you find an interesting script on GitHub and wanted to copy and\nupdate it for your environment, forking the code would accomplish that goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each dot in the\nimage below references a commit.  For\nexample, the first dot is code for a generic web server.  Fred forks the code and builds a web\nsite.  Jane does the same and commits and\nadditional update.  Fred and Janes don\u2019t\nknow each other or plan to ever merge their web sites.  They simply started with the same web server\ncode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Fork Overview <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a demonstration,\nI fork a sample GitHub repository.  The\nactual repository is not as important as the process.  Start by logging into GitHub and finding the\nrepository to Fork.  In the upper right-hand\nside of GitHub is a Fork icon, click that to start the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Fork Repo <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A message appears indicating\nthe Repo is being Forked.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Forking the Repo <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now the Repository\nis part of my account.  I can clone,\nupdate and commit just as with any other Repository.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Forked Repo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Below shows a new\ncommit added to the Forked Repository.  Notice that all the past history is still part\nof the repository, but only changes to my forked repository will show going\nforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Forked Repo Commit <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Branch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sticking to the\nroad analogy, think of a Branch as a detour. \nIt may split from the source path for a while, but the intent is that it\nwill merge back eventually.  A Branch\nstarts at a commit of the Master Branch. \nFor example, Let\u2019s say there was a script that saves a CSV file to the\nlocal drive.  It works, but it would be\nbetter if it sent the file by email. \nYou, or someone else, could create a Branch to add a function to send the\nCSV file by email.  The Master Branch is\nleft untouched while the new Branch is updated and tested.  Once that is tested and working, the Branch is\nmerged back into the Master.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Branch Overview <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Branch start and\nend with commits to the Master Branch. \nThis is an important distinction between Branch and Fork.  Branches are intended to merge back into Master,\nwhile Forks become their own thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create a Branch\nin Visual Studio Code, start by opening the repository to Branch and open the\nCommand Palette by pressing Crtl + Shift + P (Cmd + Shift + P on Mac) and type Git: Create\nBranch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Git Create Branch <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next,\nenter the name of the Branch.  The name\n\u201cFeature-1\u201d is used in this example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Git Create Branch Name <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After\nthat type Master<\/em> for the Branch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Branch from Master <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Branch\nwas created and VSCode is working with the new Feature-1 <\/em>Branch.  This is indicated in the bottom left-hand\ncorner.  The icon Changed from Master<\/em>\nto Feature-1<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Current Branch <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now that the new Branch has been created, make a change to the script, save and commit the change as outlined in my previous article here<\/a>.  Run the command git show-branch –a<\/em> in the VS Code terminal to display the Branches in the repository.  Notice there are two shown.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
git show-branch <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At this\npoint in our hypothetical scenario, the code has been Branched, changes made and\neverything tests good.  It\u2019s time to\nmerge the Feature-1 Branch back to the Master Branch for all the world to\nenjoy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start by\nchanging back to the Master Branch.  This\nis an important step.  Merging happens in\nto a Branch.  If this step is missed, the\nnext step will merge Master to the Feature-1 Branch.  To switch to the Master Branch, type git:\ncheckout<\/em> in the VS Code Command Palette. \nThe next window shows the list of available Branches.  Select Master and continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Checkout Master <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The editor\nis now in the Master Branch.  Master\nshould display at the bottom left of the VS Code window. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start\nthe merge process by typing git: merge Branch <\/em>in the VS Code Command Palette.\n Next, select the Branch to merge,\nFeature-1 for this example.  That\nfinishes the merge process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Git Merge <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\nFeature-1 Branch has been merged and is no longer needed.  The next step is to remove it.  To do so, start by going to the VS Code\nCommand Palette and type git: branch delete<\/em>.  Select the Branch to delete in the next\nscreen.  The only Branch available is\nFeature-1 in this example.  That deletes\nthe Branch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Git Branch Delete <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Run the git\nshow-branch –a <\/em>command to show the existing Branches.  Notice the commit from Feature-1 shows as\npart of the Master Branch, but there is only one Branch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although\nwe did not push changes to a remote repository, all changes could be pushed to and\nwould be reflected in a remote repo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Forking\nis good for \u201cborrowing\u201d someone else\u2019s code. \nForking makes it easy to copy and modify other scripts to fit your needs.  It\u2019s worth understanding how it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A best\npractice for developers is to create and modify code Branches and merge them back\nto Master when complete.  This makes\nsense for a multi-developer environment where code review and tracking take\nplace.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I almost\nnever create Branches. Being the only one using my scripts, it\u2019s just easier to\nedit in the Master Branch.  However,\ncreating a separate Branch provides the ability to make and test changes\nwithout impacting the production Master Branch. \nBranching may be a good habit for even lone scripters to get into for larger\nor critical scripts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my first post, I made the bold statement that I would leave Branch and Fork out of this series because as a Sysadmin and loan scripter, I simply don\u2019t need that functionality.  However, I didn\u2019t feel that this would be a complete series on Git if I didn\u2019t spend some time on Git Branch …<\/p>\n

Git for the Lone Scripter – Fork, Branch & Merge<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[600,601,598,341,338,599],"yoast_head":"\nGit for the Lone Scripter - Fork, Branch & Merge - ciraltos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I didn\u2019t feel that this would be a complete series on Git if I didn\u2019t spend some time on Git Branch and Fork. 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