"Pro Git" Book Writeup
October 26, 2010
What’s the point?
This is the defacto book on git, the distributed version control system. It explains how git works
(storing changes, branching, etc) and also details some distributed workflows that can be used in a team
setting. Additionally, there are lots of neat tips and tricks to improve productivity when using git.
How was it? I had some hands-on experience with git already (I have been using it as for my personal repositories for about a year) so this book was a nice way to compliment my existing knowledge. Some of the introductory chapters were a bit boring since I knew the basics of using git, but I did not have a really solid understanding of branching so that chapter was really interesting. The book uses a lot of diagrams and examples to illustrate the advantages of git and this really helped me finally understand why is ‘better’ than other VCSs. The structure of the book is a little disjointed – it is more of a reference book than a cover-to-cover read. I particularly thought that the chapter on setting up a git server could have been moved to an appendix and I would have maybe liked more information on team workflows such as feature branching or git-flow.
Who should read it?
If you use git on a regular basis already, you can probably skip this book. Some people might like to
know about the internals, but most people just want something that works. I think that for someone looking
to learn git you are probably better off just diving in and using it and then maybe using this book or the
excellent GitHub Help pages when you get stuck.
Notes: I read the book online and it is available for free at Pro Git.