Git Merging
Branching make it easy to work with in a contained context, but if we want to incorporate between branch merging is essential for collaborating on software development projects. It allows developers to share their work, integrate new features, and ensure that the codebase remains cohesive and functional. Merging will help us handy to achieve the same. Merging involves taking the changes from one branch and integrating them into another branch. This process helps combine the work done in different branches, allowing developers to consolidate their changes and ensure that the codebase remains up-to-date and cohesive.
Once the changes in a branch are complete and tested, you merge them back into another branch, often the main branch (also known as the "master" or "mainline" branch).
Merging brings together the changes made in different branches and combines them into a single branch.
In some cases, conflicts may arise if the changes made in different branches affect the same parts of the code. Resolving these conflicts is an essential part of the merging process.
Here are a few scenarios where merging is crucial:
Feature Integration: After a feature or task is complete in its branch, it's merged back into the main branch to make it part of the main codebase.
Bug Fixes: If a bug is discovered in the main branch, a bug fix branch can be created. Once the bug is fixed, the changes are merged back into the main branch to resolve the issue.
Code Review: Developers can review each other's code in separate branches before merging the changes into the main branch. This helps maintain code quality and catch errors early.
Parallel Development: Merging allows multiple developers to work on different features simultaneously. Their changes can be integrated into the main branch when ready.
Version Releases: Merging changes from different branches into a release branch ensures that all the necessary updates are included in a new software version.
In summary, branching helps maintain a contained context for focused work, while merging facilitates the integration of these changes into a shared codebase. This combination of branching and merging is a fundamental aspect of modern software development and version control practices.
- Before switching to the target branch, you can check which branch you are currently on by using the command:
>> git branch
The currently active branch will be indicated with an asterisk (*).
- To switch to the branch where you want to merge changes, use the
git checkoutcommand followed by the target branch's name:
>> git checkout <branch-name>
Replace branch-name with the actual name of the branch you want to merge changes into.
- After running the
git checkoutcommand, Git will output a message indicating that you've switched to the target branch:
Switched to branch 'branch-name'
Now you're on the target branch, and you can proceed with merging the changes from another branch into this one.
- Use the
git mergecommand followed by the name of the branch from which you want to merge changes. For example, if you want to merge changes from a branch namedfeature-branch:
>> git merge feature-branch
This command merges the changes from the feature-branch into your current branch.
- If there are conflicts between the changes in the two branches, Git will pause the merge process and indicate which files have conflicts. You'll need to manually resolve these conflicts by editing the conflicting files, saving the changes, and then committing the resolved files.
Scenario
Lets say we have two branches Master and bug-fix both having various commits.we want to merge the branches
In this case, rather than making a fast-forward merge git performs a merge commit where we end up with a new commit on the master branch.
