Intro to the Windows Git GUI – In Pictures

UPDATE (2008.12.24): Use TortoiseGit - when it is finished - instead of Git Gui.

The goal of this article is to start using Git for something. After you start using Git, for something, you can explore the features that make distributed version control useful. Please note, I already know Git Gui is a terrible interface.

This article assumes you have installed Git and Git Gui with the default settings.

General Knowledge:
GIT’s distributed model is based on the idea of repositories existing as standalone entities on your local machine with the ability to “pull” from other repositories. There is no central server. To start out, it is best to have one repository per project.

Creating a new local repository:

Adding New Files:

Committing Changes:

Clone a repository:

Virtual Development Environments

Summary: If you have the VM hardware extensions, just develop inside a VM. I suggest VirtualBox.

Through curiosity, and work, I encounter more programming stacks than one machine can handle. My home machine previously contained Android, Python, PHP, .Net, Flex, Ruby, and other stacks resulting in a slow machine and configuration rivaling a game of Pickup Sticks. It also made moving between machines a big pain point.

My work machine started to feel the same strain with a WAMP and an ASP.Net stack when, while fixing a coworker's laptop, I found other people had the same problem. Their specific machine was running three different web servers and four different databases, not to mention the two IDEs and a smattering of smaller tools. At that moment I realized a VM was more than an instant server. It solves the "spew" problem, when software throws-up dependencies all over your machine for its own benefit. Your "spew" factor increases with the number of programs installed, and it can get messy very quickly.

From that point on I have developed my projects in a VM. I have one VM per programming stack and a base image to quickly copy when I need a new one. I should note that I use VirtualBox in seamless mode with the VM hardware extensions (VT-x / AMD-V).

Tips:
1. Get more RAM and a faster hard drive.
2. Skip Vista unless you need it.
3. Ditch both Microsoft Virtual PC and Microsoft Virtual Server.
4. Defrag the host OS more often.
5. Choose a different theme for your guest OS.