git diff between branches - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Compare Changes Between Git Branches Using git diff

📖 Scenario: You are working on a software project using Git. You have two branches: main and feature. You want to see what changes have been made in the feature branch compared to main before merging.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to use the git diff command to compare differences between two branches.

📋 What You'll Learn

Have a Git repository with two branches named main and feature

Use git diff to compare branches

Understand how to specify branch names in git diff

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Developers often work on separate branches to add features or fix bugs. Comparing branches helps review what changes will be merged.

💼 Career

Knowing how to compare branches with <code>git diff</code> is essential for code reviews and collaboration in software development teams.

1

Create two branches main and feature

Create a Git branch called main and another branch called feature.

Git

# Create branch main
# Create branch feature

Need a hint?

Use git branch branch_name to create a branch.

2

Add a file and commit changes on main branch

Switch to the main branch, create a file named app.txt with the text Main branch content, add it to Git, and commit with the message Initial commit on main.

Git

git branch main
git branch feature
# Switch to main branch
# Create app.txt with content
# Add and commit changes

Need a hint?

Use git checkout main to switch branches. Use echo to create file content.

3

Make a change on the feature branch

Switch to the feature branch, modify app.txt by adding the line Feature branch addition, add and commit the change with the message Update on feature branch.

Git

git branch main
git branch feature
git checkout main
echo "Main branch content" > app.txt
git add app.txt
git commit -m "Initial commit on main"
# Switch to feature branch
# Append text to app.txt
# Add and commit changes

Need a hint?

Use git checkout feature to switch branches. Use >> to append text to a file.

4

Use git diff to compare feature branch with main

Run the command git diff main..feature to see the changes made in the feature branch compared to main.

Git

git branch main
git branch feature
git checkout main
echo "Main branch content" > app.txt
git add app.txt
git commit -m "Initial commit on main"
git checkout feature
echo "Feature branch addition" >> app.txt
git add app.txt
git commit -m "Update on feature branch"
# Run git diff to compare main and feature branches

Need a hint?

Use git diff main..feature to compare the two branches.