Back-end Web Developement Version Control Syllabus

Version Control syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Version Control in Back-end Web Developement, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Git Basics

   3 topics

   • Cloning Repositories
   • Branching
   • Merging
2. 2

   Collaboration

   2 topics

   • Pull Requests
   • Code Reviews
3. 3

   Advanced Git

   3 topics

   • Rebasing
   • Cherry-Picking
   • Stashing

Version Control flashcards for Back-end Web Developement

23 of 51 cards from the Version Control deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is a repository in Git version control?

   A repository (repo) is a data structure that stores a project's complete history, including all files, directories, commits, branches, and tags. It contains a hidden .git folder holding all version metadata.

2. What does 'cloning a repository' mean, and which command performs it?

   Cloning creates a full local copy of a remote repository, including its entire history and branches. It is performed with git clone <url>.

3. When you clone a repository, what remote is automatically created and what is it named by convention?

   Git automatically creates a remote pointing to the source URL, named origin by default.

4. What is the difference between git clone and git fork?

   git clone makes a local copy of an existing repository on your machine. A fork creates a server-side copy of a repository under your own account (a hosting-platform feature, e.g. GitHub), which you then typically clone locally.

5. How do you clone only a single branch instead of all branches?

   Use git clone --single-branch --branch <name> <url>, which fetches only the specified branch's history.

6. What is a shallow clone, and how is it created?

   A shallow clone downloads only a limited portion of history rather than the full commit log, saving time and space. It is created with git clone --depth <n> <url>, keeping only the last n commits.

7. After cloning, which branch is checked out by default?

   The remote's default branch (commonly main or master) is checked out automatically as the working branch.

8. What is a branch in Git?

   A branch is a lightweight, movable pointer to a specific commit. It represents an independent line of development, allowing work to proceed without affecting other branches.

9. What command creates a new branch and switches to it in one step?

   git checkout -b <name> or the modern equivalent git switch -c <name>.

10. What is HEAD in Git?

    HEAD is a pointer that refers to the currently checked-out commit, usually the tip of the current branch. It determines which snapshot your working directory reflects.

11. What is a 'detached HEAD' state?

    A detached HEAD occurs when HEAD points directly to a specific commit rather than to a branch. New commits made here are not attached to any branch and can be lost if not saved to a branch.

12. How do you list all local branches, and how do you list remote branches too?

    git branch lists local branches; git branch -r lists remote branches; git branch -a lists both local and remote branches.

13. How do you delete a local branch, and what is the difference between -d and -D?

    git branch -d <name> deletes a branch only if it has been merged; git branch -D <name> force-deletes it regardless of merge status.

14. What is a tracking (upstream) branch?

    A tracking branch is a local branch that has a direct relationship to a remote branch. It lets Git know where to push and pull, and enables status messages like 'ahead by 2 commits'.

15. What is merging in Git?

    Merging integrates changes from one branch into another, combining their histories. Git joins the divergent lines of development, typically creating a merge commit that has two parents.

16. What is a fast-forward merge?

    A fast-forward merge occurs when the target branch has no new commits since the feature branch diverged, so Git simply moves the branch pointer forward to the feature branch's tip without creating a merge commit.

17. What is a three-way merge?

    A three-way merge is used when both branches have diverged. Git uses three commits — the two branch tips and their common ancestor (merge base) — to compute the combined result and creates a new merge commit.

18. What is a merge commit, and how many parents does it have?

    A merge commit records the integration of two branches. Unlike a normal commit with one parent, a merge commit has two (or more) parent commits.

19. How do you force Git to always create a merge commit even when a fast-forward is possible?

    Use git merge --no-ff <branch>, which creates a merge commit to preserve the record that a branch was merged.

20. What is a merge conflict and when does it occur?

    A merge conflict occurs when two branches make incompatible changes to the same lines of a file (or one deletes a file the other edits). Git cannot automatically decide which change to keep and requires manual resolution.

21. What do the conflict markers <<<<<<<, =======, and >>>>>>> indicate in a file?

    They delimit conflicting regions: content between <<<<<<< and ======= is from the current branch (HEAD), and content between ======= and >>>>>>> is from the branch being merged.

22. After manually resolving a merge conflict, what steps complete the merge?

    Edit the files to resolve conflicts, run git add <file> to mark them resolved, then git commit (or git merge --continue) to finalize the merge commit.

23. How do you abort an in-progress merge and return to the pre-merge state?

    Run git merge --abort, which restores the branch to the state before the merge began.

See more Version Control flashcards →

Planning Version Control for Back-end Web Developement

Version Control (Back-end Web Developement) FAQ