Searching history with git log -S - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the command to search commits that added or removed the word 'fix' in the code.

Git

git log -S '[1]'

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Afix

Berror

Cbug

Dupdate

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using a word not present in the code changes.

Forgetting to put the search word in quotes.

The -S option in git log searches for commits that added or removed the specified string. Here, 'fix' is the target word.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the command to show the patch (code changes) for commits that added or removed the string 'login'.

Git

git log -S '[1]' -p

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Alogout

Buser

Clogin

Dsession

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using unrelated words that won't match any commit.

Omitting the -p option when patch details are needed.

The -p option shows the patch (code differences) for each commit found by the -S search.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the command to search commits that added or removed the string 'config' ignoring case.

Git

git log -S '[1]' -i

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aconfig

BconFig

CConfig

DCONFIG

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using uppercase or mixed case unnecessarily.

Not using the -i option when case should be ignored.

The -i option makes the search case-insensitive, so the exact case of the string in the command does not matter. Using lowercase 'config' is standard.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to search commits that added or removed the string 'error' and limit output to 3 commits.

Git

git log -S '[1]' -n [2]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aerror

B5

C3

D10

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using a wrong number for the limit.

Using a wrong search string.

The -S option searches for the string 'error'. The -n option limits the number of commits shown; here, 3 commits.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to search commits that added or removed the string 'timeout', show patches, and limit output to 2 commits.

Git

git log -S '[1]' [2] -n [3]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-p

B-i

C2

D-v

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Mixing up options for patch and verbose output.

Using wrong numbers for commit limits.

-S 'timeout' searches for the string 'timeout'. -p shows the patch (code changes). -v shows the commit message verbosely. -n 2 limits output to 2 commits.

Practice

1. What does the git log -S command do?

easy

A. Finds commits that added or removed a specific string in the code.

B. Shows the current status of files in the working directory.

C. Displays the list of branches in the repository.

D. Creates a new branch with the given name.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of git log -S

   This command searches commit history for changes that added or removed a specific string.

2. Step 2: Compare with other git commands

   Other options like git status show file status, git branch lists branches, and git branch <name> creates branches, which are different tasks.

3. Final Answer:

   Finds commits that added or removed a specific string in the code. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Search commits by string change = B [OK]

Hint: Remember: -S searches for string changes in commits [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing -S with showing file status
• Thinking it lists branches
• Assuming it creates branches

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find commits that added or removed the word fix using git log -S?

easy

A. git log -S fix

B. git log -s fix

C. git log --search=fix

D. git log -search fix

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify correct option flag

   The correct flag to search for string changes is uppercase -S, so git log -S fix is correct.

2. Step 2: Check other options for syntax errors

   -s is not valid for this purpose, and --search or -search are not valid git log options.

3. Final Answer:

   git log -S fix -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Uppercase -S for string search = A [OK]

Hint: Use uppercase -S to search string changes in git log [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using lowercase -s instead of -S
• Trying non-existent --search option
• Adding extra dashes incorrectly

3. Given the following git log command:
git log -S 'bugfix' --oneline
What will this command output?

medium

A. An error because the string 'bugfix' is not quoted correctly.

B. A list of all commits with the word 'bugfix' anywhere in the commit message.

C. A list of commits that modified files named 'bugfix'.

D. A list of commits that added or removed the string 'bugfix', shown in one line each.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand -S 'bugfix' usage

   This searches commits that added or removed the exact string 'bugfix' in the code or content.

2. Step 2: Understand --oneline option

   This shows each commit in a short single line format for easy reading.

3. Final Answer:

   A list of commits that added or removed the string 'bugfix', shown in one line each. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   -S finds string changes, --oneline shortens output = D [OK]

Hint: Combine -S with --oneline for short commit list by string [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking it searches commit messages instead of code changes
• Assuming it filters by file names
• Believing quotes cause errors here

4. You run git log -S 'update' but get no results, even though you know the word 'update' was added in some commits. What could be the problem?

medium

A. You need to use git log -G 'update' to search commit messages.

B. You forgot to put quotes around the search string.

C. The string 'update' was only changed in commit messages, not in code.

D. The repository has no commits at all.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand what -S searches

   -S searches for string changes in the code or content, not in commit messages.

2. Step 2: Consider commit message search

   If 'update' was only added or changed in commit messages, -S won't find it; use git log --grep 'update' to search commit messages. -G searches code diffs by regex.

3. Final Answer:

   The string 'update' was only changed in commit messages, not in code. -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   -S searches code changes, not commit messages = A [OK]

Hint: Use -G to search commit messages, -S for code changes [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming -S searches commit messages
• Thinking quotes cause no results
• Believing repository is empty without checking

5. You want to find all commits that added or removed the string TODO but only in the src/ folder. Which command will do this correctly?

hard

A. git log -S 'TODO' --path src/

B. git log -S 'TODO' -- src/

C. git log -S 'TODO' src/

D. git log --S 'TODO' -- src/

Solution

1. Step 1: Use -S 'TODO' to search string changes

   This finds commits adding or removing 'TODO'.

2. Step 2: Use -- src/ to limit search to the src folder

   The double dash -- separates options from path arguments, so -- src/ limits the search to that folder.

3. Step 3: Check other options for syntax correctness

   src/ alone without -- is invalid here; --path is not a git log option; --S is invalid (uppercase S must be after git log).

4. Final Answer:

   git log -S 'TODO' -- src/ -> Option B

5. Quick Check:

   Use -- before path to limit git log search = C [OK]

Hint: Use -- before folder path to limit git log search [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Omitting -- before path
• Using invalid --path option
• Writing --S instead of -S